Last Friday was a day of firsts for the men's and women's cross country teams. Not only did Brown host the inaugural Rothenberg Race in Warwick's Goddard State Park, but both squads also dominated the competition, as they ran to matching first-place victories. The strong team efforts were reflected in the individual results, with Brown runners claiming the top three slots in each race.
The women scored 18 points to win and placed seven runners in the top 10, handily beating second-place finisher Boston College. Margaret Connelly '14 finished the five-kilometer course first for Brown in a time of 17 minutes, 27 seconds.
"It's encouraging, but I look at myself in the larger field of competition, too," said Connelly, who has placed first among her teammates in each race she has run for Brown. As the top finisher overall, Connelly also earned the meet title on the women's side.
Heidi Caldwell '14 finished second both for Brown and overall with a time of 17:29. It was only her second collegiate race, since she had been sick earlier in the season.
"This race felt a lot better and I think I will be feeling 100 percent soon," she said.
Elaine Kuckertz '13 finished third for Brown in 17:38 and Ari Garber '12 finished next (fifth overall) with a time of 17:55.
"I was really happy with how they raced," said women's Head Coach Jill Miller. "We played around a little with the race tactics and they all did really well in executing the plan."
On the men's side, Brown scored 15 points and placed eight runners in the top 10, dominating runner-up Harvard. Co-captain Matt Duffy '12 claimed the overall top spot on the eight-kilometer course in a time of 24:48.
"I think the race went just as well as I wanted," Duffy said. "It got me ready for Heps," referring to the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships.
Brian Schilder '11 and Dan Lowry '12 finished behind Duffy in 25:05 and 25:23, respectively.
The first two rookie runners to finish for Brown were Brendan Boyle '14 in 26:22 and Colin Savage '14 in 26:31. They finished 12th and 15th, respectively, in the overall field of 36 competitors.
"It was definitely the best race we had as a team all year," Duffy said.
With this race over, the teams have almost two weeks until they compete at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in New York, N.Y. on Oct. 29. The men and women will look to improve upon their fifth-place finishes at last year's championships.
The team's training during this pre-championship period will help them succeed later in the season, said men's head coach Tim Springfield.
"It's not about what the other teams are doing," Springfield said. "It's us trying to run as a team the absolute best that we can."
In addition to preparing for the conference finale, both teams are focused on being in top shape for regionals and nationals.
"We want to give 100 percent at every meet, but we also want to have the vision that our season is not over at Heps," Miller said.
