This weekend, the cross country team followed up its outstanding finish at the hometown Wesleyan Invitational of Oct. 4, with a solid showing at the annual New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) Championships at Boston’s Franklin Park on Oct. 11.
In a unique show of solidarity, both the men and the women’s teams placed 22nd, out of a field of 47 and 45, respectively.
The men’s race, an 8k—just shy of five miles for those unfamiliar with the metric system—was taken home by Boston College’s Tim Ritchie, a senior, who finished at 24:35, just one second before University of Massachusetts Lowell’s Ruben Sanca and a full eight seconds in front of fellow Lowell runner Red Radloff. Ritchie’s winning time, however, was not enough to win it for Boston College, as Lowell’s numbers were strong enough to give the team the overall win.
For the Cards, co-captain Jonah Blumstein ’09 dug in and posted a strong time of 25:57, which put him 77th in a field of 316. With the help of Charles Lang ’11, Matt Katz ’11, Justin Spring ’10, Chris Foster ’09, James Lawrence ’12 and Sam Kurtis ’10, the men’s team finished in between fellow NESCAC squads Middlebury and Bowdoin.
The women’s varsity race was a 5k, more than three miles of breakneck competition. Once again Boston College, feeling the hometown vibes of Franklin Park, had a wicked good finish, taking home first place, with four out of its seven runners finishing in the top 10. The race’s winner overall was Andrea Walkonen at 17:19, running for Beantown rival Boston University, whose squad finished 5th on the day.
Wesleyan’s female co-captains proved their leadership for the Cards, as Liz Wheatley ’09, the winner of September’s Wesleyan Invitational, and Ravenna Neville ’10 posted the best times for their group of seven, 18:43 and 18:49, respectively. Contributing in the effort was Anna Schindler ’09, Tess Crain ’12, Sarah White ’11, Amanda Jacob ’10 and Jessica Levin ’11.
This weekend’s results bring the men’s team to a record of 32-21 overall, while the women now stand at 28-23. While the Cards are in the midst of a strong season, you can bet both the women’s and men’s teams will be looking to book it extra hard against their rivals, as they look ahead to the Little Three meet at Williams College on Oct. 25, and the NESCAC Open Race on Oct. 30 at home.
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