Though both the men's and women's cross country teams started strong at the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University last Saturday, the runners missed opportunities to take advantage of their early success as the race progressed. The men finished 23rd out of 42 teams while the women captured 12th place out of 41 squads.
Co-captain Matt Duffy '12 led the men's squad, finishing the 8 kilometer course in 25 minutes, 2 seconds, placing him 67th out of 387 runners. Brian Schilder '11 and Austin Snyder '13 backed up Duffy's strong performance, finishing in 25:08 and 25:17 seconds, respectively.
"The team positioned themselves very well, and then failed to execute the race plan over the majority of the race," Duffy said.
Despite this, the team is very motivated and willing to work towards a stronger performance at upcoming meets, according to Duffy.
Men's Head Coach Tim Springfield agreed. "I saw some things that were very encouraging," he said.
On the women's team, Margaret Connelly '14 led with a time of 21:21 seconds on the 6 kilometer course, finishing 36th among the 366 runners.
"I improved my time, but I think that I can do more," Connelly said. "We definitely went out strong, kind of fell asleep in the middle, and came back."
Heidi Caldwell '14 finished next for Brown in 21:41.
When asked where the women can improve, Women's Cross Country Coach Jill Miller focused on "being tough throughout the entire race."
Duffy also looked forward to future races, where the team will look to better capitalize on its opportunities.
"Everyone wants to make the team better," he said.
Bruno will face its next challenge at the New England Championships on Saturday. The race will be held in Franklin Park in Boston.
