Sports
Familiar faces lead cross country squads to early season success
By Jane Bary ’19
October 1, 2015
Fueled by strong performances by veteran runners, the men’s and women’s cross country teams are off to a good start this fall.
The men’s team has proven capable of hanging with some of the best teams in the area, thanks to an impressive fifth place finish in the recent University of Rochester invitational. The team finished behind Colgate, a Division I school, and nationally ranked Ohio Northern. The Continentals topped another nationally ranked school, SUNY Geneseo, in the 21-team field.
Leading the way for Hamilton were seniors Jack Moses ’16, Adam Pfander ’16, Evan Abelson ’16, Harry Sullivan ’16 and David Freeman ’16, all of whom placed in the top seven at Rochester on Sept. 19. The senior class of runners has a strong track record, with Pfander earning an individual bid to nationals in 2013 before spending last fall abroad, and Sullivan falling just short of a national bid last season.
Jack Pierce ’17 had the best overall time for the Continentals in the 8,000-meter Rochester race, finishing 13th overall with a time of 26:43.4.
“Our team is heavily dominated by a large senior presence,” Freeman said. “This class has been a strong core of the team for three years and counting. Since this makes us an older team, we definitely feel the need to perform well and reach our goals this season, namely qualifying for NCAAs.”
Younger runners Colin Horgan ’19 and Henry Whipple ’18 are also making their mark. Horgan was Hamilton’s sixth best runner at Rochester and its fourth best runner in Hamilton’s Sept. 12 season opener in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Whipple logged 57th place overall finish at the Saratoga race, good for fifth best among Hamilton runners. The Continentals finished seventh in team scoring among 21 schools competing in that 6-kilometer event.
Hamilton cross country started its season a week later than many other nearby schools, so team members see room for further improvement as the season progresses. They have a handful of invitational meets left, followed by the state, conference and regional championships.
“We’ve had some great performances from some of the new freshmen and we are really beginning to find our rhythm,” Freeman said. “The most important races will be coming later this fall, particularly after fall break when our championship season begins. I think our current trajectory bodes well for the later season since we continue to build week to week while other teams may peak too early.”
Hamilton fields a younger squad on the the women’s side, but is still relying on experienced runners putting up strong performances. That balance has paid off for the Continentals so far, with the women’s cross country team notching a pair of 10th place team finishes at the Rochester season opener and the Saratoga meet despite facing tough competition against Division I Cornell University and Colgate University in the Rochester meet.
Hanna Jerome ’18 finished first for the Continentals in both events, good for 34th overall at Rochester and 37th at Saratoga. Lindsay Heyer ’17, Samantha Buttrick ’17 and Sarah Dimakis ’17 each put up good starts to their seasons. Grace Berg ’16 was a top-seven finisher at Rochester, hitting the best time of her college career in the process (26:05.9).
Five first-years joined the squad this year, and Mary Lundin ’19 has seen the best results of the newcomers so far. She landed in Hamilton’s top three in both races.
“We have had numerous people [hit personal records] and we are all getting stronger,” Lundin said of the team’s successes over the first month. “It is nice to be done with the hot, humid weather. This week is ideal training weather.”
Both Hamilton squads will host an invitational meet on Oct. 10 and then host the state championships on Oct. 24. The Continentals end their season with the NESCAC conference championships, regional championships and possibly the national championships.
An appearance at nationals seems like a real possibility for the men’s team, which is shaping up to be an improved version of last year’s squad. They see a national bid as the culmination of four good years for the Continental seniors.
“We had a couple runners who were coming off of injury from the summer who are now joining the team in races,” Freeman said. “It will be exciting to see the entire team come together in the coming weeks.”
Both teams suit up next on Oct. 3 for the SUNY Geneseo Invitational.