This past weekend, Hamilton Men’s cross country and nationally ranked №28 women’s cross country competed at the Williams Purple Valley Cross Country Classic. Both programs captured respectable finishes — the men finished 9th, the women 11th — and left Williamstown, M.A. with plenty of positives and goals for their next race.
Leading the way for the men in the eight-kilometer race was Bryce Murdick ’20, placing in 21st place with a time of 26:35.7. He was followed by Lucas Wright ’21 who finished with a time of 26:40.8.
When asked how the race felt, Wright remarked that he “felt good” but feels like he has room for improvement throughout the season. This theme of untapped potential pervades the Continentals as they were without solid first- year Max Steffy, whose presence Peter Ross ’20 believes would have allowed the team to “beat a nationally-ranked team like Tufts or Connecticut College.”
Rounding out the rest of Hamilton’s top five was Colin Horgan ’19 who placed 89th with a time of 27:55.8, and Chris Skelton ’20 who ran 28:01.7, good enough for 92nd overall. In total, the team recorded 266 points.
With a strong showing from a shorthanded team, Jake Colangelo ’20 aptly points out that “This year we have dropped off the NESCAC radar, so running some fast times on Saturday helped us get some recognition. We had some stellar individual performances from [Murdick] and [Wright], but we also performed pretty well as a team.”
With a strong team going un- noticed heading into the weekend, the men’s squad will undoubtedly be looking to pop up on other NESCAC’s radar in future meets.
The women’s team felt a similar sense of missed opportunity as their male counterparts after exiting the course. Star runner and team leader Grace Heller ’19 fell during the opening meters of the race and was unable to finish. As a result, Hamilton’s point total was artificially inflated without the low scoring contributions Heller steadily provides. Heller’s absence plus the tough nature of Williams’ course led senior captain Anaidys Uribe ’19 to remark, “Williams is a true cross country course with rolling hills and open fields and if you’re not mentally prepared, it wrecks you.
“Despite an 11th-place finish we had some great performances by Haley Driscoll ’21, Brigit Humphreys ’21, and Mary Lundin ’19 that really helped the team.”
Uribe’s summation is on point as Humphreys crossed the line first for the Continentals, 31st overall, in a time of 23.53.8. Driscoll came through next in the 67th position, running a personal-best mark of 24:55.4.
Crossing the line within seven places of one another were Lundin, Courtney Brunet ’20, and Emily Young ’19, finishing with times of 25:00, 25:05, and 25:14.5 respectively. The quintet managed a score of 284 points.
Both teams acknowledge the challenges ahead, but with a sense of optimism. Horgan, a men’s captain, remarked, “Next week at Saratoga we have a really good opportunity to break into the regional rankings. We haven’t raced at full strength yet, so the field may be surprised to see Hamilton coming out near the top. RPI [Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute], a top ten team nationally, will also be at the meet, but if we can take second or third behind them then that should set us up really well for the rest of the season.”
On the women’s side, Uribe feels similarly about the upcoming weekend, commenting on some of the advantages the RPI course affords its competitors, “It’s a fast course and we’re dropping from a [6-kilometer] to a [5-kilometer]. It’s always everyone’s favorite course so we’re coming out strong.”
Fans can catch both teams in Sara- toga Springs, N.Y. for RPI’s Saratoga Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 10:45 AM (women) and 11:30 AM (men).
