One of the most overlooked and least talked about sports on campus could very well be the best program which this school has. The men’s and women’s cross country teams have been leaving the competition in their dust over the first part of the season and do not seem to be slowing down any time soon. This is evident with their performance at the New England Championships over this past weekend.
The men’s team finished fifth, their highest place ever, and graduate student Tom Martin earned All-New England honors, finishing 13th individually, and setting the 8k school record with a time of 25:09.
“It was a great performance overall for the men’s team,” Head Coach Shawn Green said. “Led by two grad students Tom Martin and Greg Toomey in their last year, it was an excellent finish for our team.”
Providence College won the men’s overall meet with 25 points.
The women’s team finished ninth overall, with graduate student Katie Gwyther leading the charge with her sixth place finish. This marked the team’s best finish in its history at the New England Championship. They also had five runners complete of the course in under 20 minutes, which is a new school record.
Boston University won the women’s overall meet with 50 points.
This was just a microcosm of what has been going on with these programs all season.
The men, who are currently ranked seventh in New England, have taken home the hardware this season.
Freshman Jacob Gurzler has won NEC Rookie of the Week three times. Mark Driscoll has won NEC Athlete of the Week twice and Martin has won it once, with another award likely coming after his effort at the New England Championship.
They have come in first place the Quinnipiac Invitational and the Stony Brook Invitational and second place at the Fordham Ram Invitational. They have the Penn State National Invitational before the serious competition begins at the NEC Championship and the NCAA Championships.
The women have also won their fair share of hardware. Katie Gwyther has taken home two of the four NEC Athlete of the Week Awards, while freshman Caitlin Brady has done the same in regards to the NEC Rookie of the Week Award.
As a team, the women have done well this season. They placed second at the Stony Brook Invitational and the Quinnipiac Invitational. Their fifth place finish at the Fordham Ram Invitational had been their lowest of the season before the New England Championship.
Both teams have set themselves up well for the upcoming regional match-ups. They should do well considering the strong races which have been run already this season.
