Despite high expectations and a previously-impressive track record, the men's cross country team was unable to achieve its goal of winning the ECAC championships this past weekend. Tufts (267) finished ninth out of the field of 38 competitors and, more importantly, was unable to match the runners of five other NESCAC rivals.
After being overmatched in last week's NESCAC championships, Williams College responded with a first place finish at ECACs, finishing with a total of 46 points. Fellow NESCAC foes Bates (71), Middlebury (224), Wesleyan (231), and Amherst (256) finished second, fifth, seventh, and eighth, respectively. The low finish meant the Jumbos missed out on a chance to win their third straight ECAC title.
Despite the surprisingly low result, the Jumbos were still content with their performance as five of the seven competing runners recorded career-best finishes. Sophomore Anyenda Inyagwa highlighted that group, finishing 13th overall with a time of 26:18. The sophomore's time was 1:10 faster than his previous record and coach Ethan Barron could not stress his happiness about Inyagwa's performance enough.
"Anyenda's performance was absolutely awesome," Barron said. "He surpassed anyone's expectations and really ran a great race out there."
Senior co-captain Matt Lacey was also excited with his teammate's time.
"It's always great to see a teammate do exceptionally well," Lacey said. "When a person goes above and beyond the best they can do, it's really something special."
The rest of the team also faired well. Sophomore Dave Sorensen (26:33) finished 28th overall, junior Peter Goransson (27:08) finished 61st and junior Chad Uy (27:27), sophomore Skye Isard (27:41), and freshmen Andrew Lee (28:45) finished 80th, 90th, and 154th respectively. Junior Nate Cleveland rounded out the pack finishing 182nd with a time of 29:47.
Each of the top five of the second seven runners ran personal records on Saturday, with Goransson cutting 40 seconds off his top time in an 8k. Barron believed this race brought several pluses, but also a few negatives.
"This race definitely had its up's and down's," Barron said. "Some of our competitors ran their number one teams, but also the race went a bit faster than we expected. It wasn't the ultimate team finish, but we still performed well. We took a few bumps and Cleveland took an elbow to the chest. Still, I'm pleased with the individual performances."
While the Jumbos' second seven definitely showed their potential, the focus shifts back to the first seven as the New England Div. III Championships take place in less than a week. Up against some of the stiffest competition in the region, the importance of the race is evident as a top five finish would guarantee an invitation to the NCAA national race.
"We have faced all the teams there and matched up well against them," Barron said. "We won't change our strategy because it has worked all year. This is the time where no matter what bruises or bumps you have, you still run. Our top seven runners are going to be out there and they are all going to put everything on the line."
The team is confident and all members agree that while the Jumbo frontrunners are the leaders of the team, it is the third through seventh runners that make the Jumbos superior to other competitors.
"Williams has very talented one and two runners, but then the rest always have to work a little harder," Barron said. "Our one and two runners are amazing, but the remainder of the team stacks up well against others."
His senior co-captain agreed.
"Our depth is definitely our strength," Lacey added. "And as the races get more important, [depth does as well]."
The Jumbos are confident going into next weekend's race and the team is expecting nothing less than a victory.
"Our goal is to win," Barron said. "You don't go into a race hoping for second. We're going to try hard and I think we can come out on top."
