The men’s and women’s cross-country teams kicked off their season with the annual Alumni Run this Saturday at the Long Lane Course. Under clear skies, the Cardinals welcomed back over twenty alumni for the weekend’s festivities.
On the men’s side, Jeremy Solomon ’05 was the individual winner, narrowly defeating co-captains graduate student Wes Fuhrman and Owen Kiely ’06. Since finishing his studies at Wesleyan, Solomon has remained a force on the road-race circuit, most recently winning the Middletown 5k earlier this summer.
“I don’t even know if an alum’ has ever won this race,” said an ecstatic Solomon. “It was great to get out and mix it up with these guys. The team is looking very strong this year, definitely on the brink of huge performances.”
At the Alumni Run and the yearly 7-mile time trial the previous Tuesday, improved times came from many members of the team.
“We’ve got a group of guys who put in a lot of work this summer,” said Nick Holowka ’07. “We can run with anyone in the region. Tell me who can stop us from going to Nationals. We’re the real deal this year.”
For the women, Ellen Davis ’07 finished first, followed closely by co-captain Erin Smith ’06. Despite being dubbed as a “rebuilding year” for the women’s team, strong performances were turned in by the younger members of the team including Lucia Pier ’08.
Perhaps assistant coach Steve Maheu put it best.
“We had a great turnout by the alumni today,” he said. “In addition, both teams put in stellar efforts this early in the preseason. We can only run faster from this point on.”
Next up for the Cardinals will be the Tufts Invitational on Saturday, September 24, where they will get their first taste of NESCAC competition.
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