With the top runners for the men's and women's cross country teams sitting out in order to rest for the upcoming New England and NCAA National Championships, the two Tufts squads called on their JV runners to step up this past Saturday at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship, hosted by Williams at Mt. Greylock High School in Williamstown, Mass.
Both teams performed equally well, with the men coming in eighth out of 43 and the women coming in eighth out of 39.
For the men, Saturday was the day of the four-year veterans and the first-year newbies. Senior Matt Tirrell led the men's team with a 27:45.8 time across the 8,000-meter course en route to a 29th place out of 296 runners. After Tirrell came freshman Dan Kirschner, who came in 36th overall with a time of 27:53.7.
Two more seniors, Jason Hanrahan and Billy Hale, finished in the Jumbos' three-four slots with a 28:18.5 for 57th overall and a 28:43.3 for 81st overall, respectively. Freshman Brandon Severson rounded out the top five, completing the course in a time of 28:44.6, good for 84th place.
The women's team, in contrast, had no seniors leading the way, but rather featured a group of young runners looking to make their mark on the collegiate cross country circuit. Sophomore Sadie Lansdale dominated the 6,000-meter course in a time of 24.48.8, leading her to a first-place finish for Tufts and a 24th place finish overall out of 275 runners. First-year Lilly Fisher got her feet wet with a 25:03.1 time and a 28th place overall finish.
Junior Elana Davidowitz, the eldest of the bunch, came in third for the Jumbos and 60th overall in a time of 25:49. Rounding out the top five were freshmen Brittney Veeck, who ran a 25:54.5 for a 63rd place finish, and Ali Maykranz, close on her heels, in a time of 26:00.4 and a 66th place finish overall.
Next weekend, the top runners will be back in the field for the NCAA New England Championship at Southern Maine, where last year the men's squad finished 11th and the women finished sixth out of 49 teams. The following weekend is the NCAA Championship in Hanover, Ind.
