They didn't have the fastest runners right at the top. They just had the best team.
Led by junior champion Neal Holtschulte, Williams Ephs finished first, third, and sixth overall, but the Tufts Jumbos used tight running and depth to win their second consecutive NESCAC Cross Country Championship Saturday at Colby.
Led by junior Matt Lacey in fourth place overall, Tufts totaled 43 points to relegate Williams (62) to bridesmaid status for the second consecutive year. It wasn't as close as last year, when Tufts' top five accumulated 48 points to Williams' 57.
"We'd been second so many darn times that we were bound to push through," coach Connie Putnam said. "So it was great to do it last year, and then do it again and cement that we are the premier team in this conference."
Lacey finished fourth overall with a time of 25:40.11, holding off Williams senior Sam Van Volkenburgh (25:43.68) but just losing out for third place to Eph sophomore Stephen Wills, who finished in 25:39.20.
"I was kind of angry that I lost to him," Lacey said. "I was ahead of him, and I should have beaten him."
"Matt Lacey never ceases to present me with a great race," Putnam said. "He goes all out every time. Today was another example of him getting it done up front when I should be getting slightly better races from some other guys."
Joining Lacey in the top ten overall were sophomore Josh Kennedy (25:45.52) and senior co-captains Brian McNamara (25:46.97) and Nate Brigham (25:48.45), who was feeling a little sick and didn't have his usual top notch race. The trio finished seventh through ninth overall, while junior Matt Fortin finished 15th overall with a time of 26:04.62 to round out the Jumbo scoring.
Tufts went out very hard from the start and was in control throughout the first several miles. Williams' top three caught up and passed the Jumbo pack coming down the course's hill to mount a challenge at the three mile mark. But Williams' fourth and fifth runners finished 22nd and 30th overall, and the Jumbos had more than enough up front for the win.
"We were pissed that we let Williams get three runners in front of our pack," Lacey said. "That definitely shouldn't happen again."
"We weren't quite up to par, not quite healthy, but we got things done pretty handily anyway," Putnam said.
In much the same way that the Red Sox might never be able to match their World Series celebration this year, the Jumbos were far less jubilant than they were last year after winning their first league title.
"It definitely wasn't the same as last year," Lacey admitted. "We're looking ahead to Regionals and Nationals."
"We kind of kept it in until we got on the bus, then I gave them a little pep talk and told them I was proud of them," Putnam added. "They know when I'm happy."
Putnam confessed that he was indeed worried that the team wasn't quite focused enough coming in.
"I was almost worried that they were a little too lackadaisical and too confident," he said.
But while the Jumbos definitely are looking ahead, Putnam couldn't help but stress the importance of winning on Saturday.
"I really wanted the guys to repeat," he said. "This might have been one of the most important races of my career, in terms of what I wanted the guys to accomplish and what I wanted them to realize they could do. It's important for us to understand that we are capable of repeating. Now we've been in both postures. Last year we had to go get that first win, and now we had to fend off Williams. It's important to experience it both ways."
With a second title under their belt, Tufts' top seven will sit out next week's ECAC Championship at Grafton in preparation for the Nov. 13 NCAA New England Championship.
"Winning again was great, but we have bigger fish to fry than this," Putnam said. "What we really want to do is go out to the NCAA's and do something there."
