We’re at the peak of foliage season in New England, and the hillsides are changing from a lush green to the crisp combination of red, orange, and yellow. With the welcomed fall backdrop comes the emergence of cross country programs running at full force. This past weekend marked the end of September and the first time many teams tapped their full potentials. On one side of the Commonwealth, top male and female Division 1 programs went head-to-head at Boston College’s Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown at Franklin Park. Then, 150 miles to the west, the very best of Division 3 New England clashed in the Berkshires at the Purple Valley Classic.
Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown
The setting for the 2nd Annual Battle in Beantown was a picturesque fall afternoon in Boston’s Franklin Park. It’s a course that is known for its tough sections, such as Bear Cage Hill and the Wilderness. Though, last Friday the heat (high 70’s) was an unexpected additional factor on race day. Racing during the warmest part of the afternoon, the women took on the course first and laid down a hot pace from the gun. Through the first mile, it was an elite group of five women led by Boston College senior Liv Westphal. Relying on her home field advantage, Westphal broke the competition ascending Bear Cage Hill and went on to break the tape in 16:30, an impressive solo effort and nearly 30 seconds faster than she ran last year. Leading the charge for number-one-ranked Michigan were Erin Finn and Shannon Osika, who finished two-three in 16:51 and 17:03, respectably. The Lady Wolverines captured the team title with 55 points over Georgetown’s 77. Exeter, NH, native Katrina Coogan led the Hoyas with her fifth-place finish and a time of 17:07. Finishing eleventh for Georgetown was former Lincoln Sudbury standout Andrea Keklak, her time was 17:18.
Rounding out the top five in the women’s team scores were Boston College in fouth with 192 points and Dartmouth in fifth with 207 points.
Unlike the women’s 5k, the men’s race started off as a slow and tactical affair. It was clear that, from the starting gun, all eyes were on Edward Cheserek and the rest of his Oregon flock. Though, Cheserek and fellow teammates were quite content with just sitting back and letting the pace slack. Prior to entering the Wilderness for the second time, Providence’s Shane Quinn and Benjamin Connor took the reigns to try and speed things up. As they hit the 5k mark in just under sixteen minutes, their effort to push the pace wilted. The real race began when the men emerged from the wilderness and an elite group of four broke off from the rest of the field—Cheserek, Quinn, Marin Hehir of Syracuse, and Eric Jenkins of Oregon. The pack quickly disappeared climbing Bear Cage Hill and, at their return to the fields, it was down to just Cheserek and Jenkins. The Oregon duo crossed the line together in 24:20 to secure a dominating victory of 24 points over Syracuse’s 52. Not only did Oregon finish an impressive one–two, they also had three other runners in the top ten! Brian Doyle of Providence finished third overall in a time of 24:27 and secured a third-place team finish for the Friars. Local teams Dartmouth and Harvard finished fifth with 142 points and sixth with 179 points.
Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown
Nestled in perfect view of the bucolic countryside and mountain ranges, the Mt. Greylock cross country course played host to a heated Division 3 showdown this past Saturday. Some might have thought Friday was hot, but it was even hotter on Saturday as temperatures reached mid-80’s at race time. Though that did not deter top New England teams such as Williams, Colby, MIT, Amherst, and Middlebury from laying it all out on the line. Just past noon, the men toed the line and took off to face a challenging 8k course. Whether it was the heat or uncertainty of opposing teams’ strength, it was quite a pedestrian pace from the start. The Colby Mules, however, looked relaxed and dominant. Up front, David Chelimo led the Mules and, until about 3k, he had about four other teammates beside him in the top ten. Eventually, Chelimo and Colin Cotton of Williams broke off to have a battle of their own. Over the final kilometers, nothing separated the two and the race came down to the final 400 meters. Chelimo certainly had the advantage over Cotton, tapping into to his sub-3:50 1500m speed and, with less than 200m to go, he took off. Unleashing a big kick, Chelimo went on to win in an impressive 25:42. Though, Cotton didn’t give up and crossed the line three seconds later in 25:45. Once the dust had settled from the homestretch duel, Bijan Mazaheri of Williams finished in 26:15 for third. Making his collegiate 8k debut, freshman Mohammed Hussein led the Amherst Jeffs with a fourth-place finish in 26:25. Though Williams placed two runners in the top three, it was not enough to overthrow Colby. The Mules took the team title with 55 points and Williams settled for second with 63 points. The MIT Engineers finished third with 72 points, Amherst took fourth with 89 points, and Tufts finished a distant fifth with 120 points.
The women’s race played out in a similar fashion to that of the men’s 8k. A heated match among the familiar top regional teams Williams, Middlebury, and MIT, the 6k was a hilly platform for rival face-offs. The MIT women, in their season debut, brought a talented group of women to the Purple Valley. Winning the team title with a decisive 36 points, the Engineers were also able to finish one-two in the individual results. Those leaders were sophomores Sarah Quinn and Maryann Gong, who took a commanding lead at the halfway mark and finished in 22:23 and 22:29, respectably. Perhaps more impressively, Quinn won her first race in over a year after sitting out the 2013-2014 seasons. Coming in as the favorites, Middlebury had to settle for second with 64 points. The Panthers were led by senior Alison Maxwell, who finished fourth and under the 23-minute mark in 22:44. Amherst native Audrey Gould took third individually, bringing theTufts women to a respectable third-place finish in the team results. NESCAC rivals Williams and Amherst rounded out the team competition in fourth (115 points) and fifth (154 points) places.
Purple Valley Invitational Results