Cross Country Displays Depth at ECACs

On Saturday Nov. 8, the cross country teams were in Westfield, Mass. running in the ECAC Championships. Both squads sat out their top runners so they would be well rested for the NCAA regional meet next week, allowing younger or less-seasoned athletes to gain championship experience. The men finished sixth out of 43 teams while the women took home a third-place finish in a field of 48 teams.

The men threw their younger athletes right to the fire: five first-years raced and were accompanied by Derek Satterfield ’15 in his last cross country race as a Panther.

Ascencion Aispuro ’18 led the charge for Middlebury, completing the eight-kilometer course in 26:14, good for 19th place. Just ten seconds behind Aispuro was classmate Matt Gillis ‘18, finishing in 25th. Peter Elkind ’18 and Tim McGovern ’18 worked together throughout the race, finishing in 26:48 and 26:50, respectively. Satterfield was next across the line, taking 74th out of 303 participants in 27:17.

“I just tried to go out and enjoy it,” Satterfield said of his final race. “It was a fast, fun race. It went out pretty quick and since the course was flat it just kind of kept on being quick.”

Alex Carlson ’18 rounded out the Panther squad, finishing in 27:55.

Satterfield commented on the experience of competing alongside so many younger runners.

“It’s encouraging to see that the first-years are continuing this team’s hallowed tradition,” he said. “Their team is going to be the cat’s pajamas for the next three years.”

After a disappointing day at the NESCAC Championships the previous week, Erzsie Nagy ’17 came back with a vengeance, taking a home a 10th-place finish to lead the Panther women. Nagy completed the six-kilometer course in 22:41.

“I went out about 30 seconds slower [for the first mile] than at NESCACs,” Nagy said. “I had so much fun and was really able to enjoy the race and appreciate cross country.”

Finishing close behind Nagy were Caroline Guiot ’16 and Emma DeCamp ’17, taking 12th and 13th-place finishes with times of 22:48 and 22:53, respectively.

Sasha Whittle ’17 and Liesel Robbins ’18 finished in close succession just moments later, taking 24th and 26th with times of 23:19 and 23:25 to round out the scoring places for the Panthers. Alyssa Taylor ’17 and Robin Vincent ’18 took 37th and 91st as the final two Middlebury runners.

Next up, the teams will travel to Williamstown, Mass. on Nov. 15 to race in the NCAA New England Region championships.

Results at the regional meet determine what teams and individuals will move to compete in the NCAA Championships, hosted by Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio on Nov. 22. The top two teams at the regional meet as well as the top seven individual finishers not on a qualifying team automatically punch their tickets to Ohio. Additionally, 16 teams across the country that did not secure a top-two finish at their regional meet will be awarded at-large qualifying bids.

The men have qualified for NCAAs every year since 2010 and the women have qualified every year since 1996 and have only missed qualifying in two of the 21 seasons the NESCAC has allowed team participation at NCAA Championship events.

While the Panther women look like shoe-ins for a 19th consecutive NCAA appearance, the men will face stiff competition from Williams, Colby and M.I.T. for the New England region’s bids to the meet.