Strong performances from the men’s and women’s cross-country teams at the New England D-III regionals earned 7th and 14th place finishes, respectively, with seniors Avery Wentworth and Kevin Hoose qualifying for nationals. The tournament, hosted by Williams last Saturday, included 54 men’s teams and 57 women’s teams.
“The DIII regional is a huge race and there was a lot of intense energy,” said Brenna Fischer ’15. “I think the women’s team did a great job channeling that energy into excitement for the race.”
The women’s team entered the tournament seeded 16th.
“We were quite pleased to beat Wesleyan—who we had lost to at NESCACs—and we finished just behind a strong Brandeis squad,” Fischer added.
The women’s team ran a 6K led by Lucy Skinner ’16, who placed 48th. Caroline Corban ’17 then placed 89th, Sarah Kelley ’18 90th, Allyson Fulton ’16 96th and Fischer 112th.
“We are used to running on the relatively flat roads of Brunswick, but we adapted surprisingly well to a hilly course in the middle of the Berkshires,” said Fischer.
Runners on the men’s team benefitted from the tournament’s competitive environment.
“The Division III New England XC Regionals was the most exciting race of the year,” said Matthew Jacobson ’17. “With National Championship bids on the line and 58 teams competing the atmosphere on the course was electric.”
The men’s team ran an 8K race led by captain Avery Wentworth ’15 who finished 28th overall, followed by co-captain Kevin Hoose ’15 in 31st. Matt Jacobson ’17 in 40th place, Bridger Tomlin ’17 in 42nd and Will Ossoff ’15 in 54th rounded out the top five Polar Bear finishers.
With regard to how the men’s team performed, Jacobson said that the men’s team had their best showings of the year when it mattered most.
“Our top five runners all finished within 31 seconds of each other, which is quite impressive considering we had two individuals qualify for nationals,” said Jacobson.
“While it was disappointing to miss out on an at-large team bid for the NCAA Championships this weekend, it will be exciting to see two of our senior captains compete at NCAAs.”
For the NCAA championships, 64 men’s and women’s cross country teams will meet in Mason, Ohio, this Saturday. Leading up to it, all eight regions hold a regional championship the Saturday before. The top two teams from each region automatically qualify for the championship race in Ohio, and the remaining 16 teams are selected by a national committee. Lastly, the top 7 finishers from each regional who are not members of the selected teams qualify to compete at the NCAA championships—where Wentworth and Hoose will compete this weekend.