The men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University and the Vermont State meet at Johnson State College this past Friday and Saturday, Oct. 2-3. Both teams came away with victories at the Vermont State meet.
At the Paul Short Run Friday the men competed in a highly competitive field of 27 teams with a total of 278 runners. A majority of the teams were Division I schools, with the remaining teams being some of the best in Division III.
Sebastian Matt ’16 was the first finisher for Middlebury College, placing 84th overall. He was followed by Ascencion Aispuro ’18 (107th), Sam Cartwright ’16 (137th), Miles Meijer ’19 (142nd), Sam Klockenkemper ’17 (159th), Harrison Knowlton ’19 (161st) and Tim McGovern ’18 (167th).
“Overall, it was a great weekend,” Matt said. “At Paul Short, the team threw down some neat times despite muddy conditions and at the Vermont state meet, the team stepped up despite ridiculous hills. Things are coming together for the postseason.”
The runners that did not compete on Friday at Paul Short ran at the Vermont State Meet on Saturday. The men’s team won the meet as Brian Rich ’17 took first, and Connor Evans ’19 finished right behind him in second. They were followed by Ethan Realander ’19 (4th), Jonathan Perlman ’19 (6th), Matt Sjogren ’19 (8th), Benjamin Hill ’19 (15th) and Peter Elkind ’18 (16th).
When asked about the big win, Rich said, “Winning the Vermont State Championship is a huge step for our team in qualifying for NESCACs. It was a true testament to the strength of our united collective.”
The women’s team had a successful weekend as well. They placed 19th out of 33 teams, a majority of which were competitive Division I teams, at Lehigh on Friday. Abigail Nadler ’19 had another stellar weekend, placing first for Middlebury in 20th out of 313 total finishers. She was followed by Adrian Walsh ’16 (72nd), Katherine Tercek ’16 (113th), Katherine MacCary ’19 (151st), Erzsie Nagy ’18 (154th), Sasha Whittle ’17 (185th) and Nikki Schachman ’16 (195th).
Nadler was obviously very excited about running against such fierce competition. “The atmosphere was amazing and it was really fast and flat course, which we don’t get to race on very often,” said Nadler. “Since there were so many people, the first mile was a little hectic and the team got a little stuck, but we remained calm and worked our way up throughout the race”.
Walsh raised the subject of team chemistry, a concept not often associated with the more individualized sport of cross country.
“Considering the size and caliber, our team did an amazing job finding each other and working together,” she said.
On Saturday the women’s team managed a perfect score, winning Vermont State Meet. They filled the first six places, with Claire Gomba ’19 in first, followed by Caroline Guiot ’16, Olivia Artaiz ’16, Read Allen ’18, Isabella Alfaro ’18 and Katie Merrick ’17. Guiot and Artaiz had great first races back from injuries.
Both teams will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 10 when they travel to Franklin Park, Mass. to compete in the Open New England Championship.
