On Saturday afternoon, the men’s and women’s cross country teams participated in the annual New England Division III Championships hosted by the University of Southern Maine at the Twin Brook Recreational Area in Cumberland, Maine. This race served as the qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championships to be held on Saturday at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio.
Placing fifth out of 47 teams, the Cardinal women had a great showing on Saturday, as the entire team qualified for Nationals next weekend. This will be the first NCAA appearance for the Wesleyan women as a team since 2004.
Ravenna Neville ’09, who dominated the 6k run, finished second out of 315 runners, guaranteeing herself a spot at the Championships. Clocking in at 21:39, Neville was only four seconds behind the first-place finisher, M.I.T.’s Jacqui Wentz.
“Ravenna had an amazing race, getting second out of over 300 girls and really showing what an amazing competitor she is,” said Tess Crain ’12.
Coming in second for Wesleyan was Julia Mark ’13, who placed 25th and finished the race with a time of 22:33. Mark’s 25th-place finish earned her all-New England Division III honors. Rosie Keogh ’13 completed the race with a time of 22:58, taking home 38th place. Close behind was Sarah White ’11, who claimed 41st place with a time of 23:01. Rounding out Wesleyan’s scoring five was Crain, who finished 53rd, covering the course in 23:16.
“Yesterday was a big day, the meet we’ve really been training for all season,” said Crain. “I think that, all in all, we did what we set out to do: We went against a very competitive region and showed how cohesive and strong a team we’ve become this year.”
M.I.T and Middlebury were the top teams in the race, tying for first with 63 points. Next came Williams with 99, followed by Amherst with 116 and Wesleyan with 159.
Fifty points away from making into the top ten in their race, the Cardinal men took home 11th place with 284 team points. Although it may not have been the ending they had hoped for, the squad put up a good fight against the other 48 teams.
“For most of us it was kind of a heart-breaking end to the season,” said Charles Lang ’11. “But it seems like we’re moving in the right direction for next year in terms of the team’s overall drive and commitment.”
Leading the way for the Cardinals, Marc Whittington ’13 finished the race with a 39th-place time of 26:24. Ten seconds later, Lang crossed the finish line in 51st place with 26:34 on the clock. Coming in next for Wesleyan was Matt Katz ’11, who placed 62nd with a time of 26:47. Bryan Marsh ’13 completed the race with a time of 26:50, taking 65th place, and Jamie Lawrence ’12 finished off the day for the Cards at 67th place with a time of 26:51.
Williams dominated the men’s race, taking first with a score of 53. Next up was Amherst with a score of 104, followed by Keene State College (132) and Brandeis University (145). Bowdoin rounded out the top five with a score of 153.
Neville will be making her second straight appearance at the NCAA Championships, as she qualified as an individual in 2008. The title race begins at 11:00 Saturday morning.
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