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XCOUNTRY: Heat, competition force slow times
by Mike Prada
Editor in Chief
Sports | 10/9/07
Posted online at 9:55 PM EST on 10/8/07
/ Last updated at 12:30 PM EST on 10/8/07
As the men's and women's cross country teams' runners crossed the finish line at the Open New England Championships Saturday, many of their faces were covered in black soot thanks to swirling dirt clouds and abnormally hot temperatures.
Both teams struggled with the adverse conditions, as the men's team finished in 31st place out of 43 teams, 12th among Division III schools, while the women's team placed 17th among Division III teams and 36th overall out of 44 squads.
"It wasn't our best meet, but we kind of knew that [would happen] going into [the meet]," coach John Evans said.
The Judges had difficulty adapting to the unusually hot weather, which consistently floated above 80 degrees throughout the race. The dry conditions caused dirt clouds to blow in the faces of the runners. Still, players tried their best to avoid using the weather as an excuse for their performances.
"Obviously, the heat was a factor, and nobody's going to run the best times, but everyone deals with the same heat," Marie Lemay '11 said. "You have to deal with it and try to run the best you can under the circumstances."
Rookies Mekonen Gendebo '11 and Paul Norton '11 posted the best two times for the men's team, which is still missing top runners Tim Condon '08 and John Guilinger '08 to injury. Condon remains sidelined with a knee injury, while Guilinger is out with a severe foot blister he suffered at the Connecticut College Invitational Sept. 22. Coach John Evans said he hopes both runners will be able to return for the University Athletic Association championships Oct. 27.
"When you're going into a meet without your best guys and you're going up against the best New England has to offer, the team morale just wasn't that high," Norton said. "When you add the weather on top of that, things just snowballed."
Gendebo finishing with a team-best time of 26 minutes, 46 seconds Sunday, good for 97th place overall. Norton was close behind, finishing in 115th place with a time of 27:05.
Both teams struggled with the adverse conditions, as the men's team finished in 31st place out of 43 teams, 12th among Division III schools, while the women's team placed 17th among Division III teams and 36th overall out of 44 squads.
"It wasn't our best meet, but we kind of knew that [would happen] going into [the meet]," coach John Evans said.
The Judges had difficulty adapting to the unusually hot weather, which consistently floated above 80 degrees throughout the race. The dry conditions caused dirt clouds to blow in the faces of the runners. Still, players tried their best to avoid using the weather as an excuse for their performances.
"Obviously, the heat was a factor, and nobody's going to run the best times, but everyone deals with the same heat," Marie Lemay '11 said. "You have to deal with it and try to run the best you can under the circumstances."
Rookies Mekonen Gendebo '11 and Paul Norton '11 posted the best two times for the men's team, which is still missing top runners Tim Condon '08 and John Guilinger '08 to injury. Condon remains sidelined with a knee injury, while Guilinger is out with a severe foot blister he suffered at the Connecticut College Invitational Sept. 22. Coach John Evans said he hopes both runners will be able to return for the University Athletic Association championships Oct. 27.
"When you're going into a meet without your best guys and you're going up against the best New England has to offer, the team morale just wasn't that high," Norton said. "When you add the weather on top of that, things just snowballed."
Gendebo finishing with a team-best time of 26 minutes, 46 seconds Sunday, good for 97th place overall. Norton was close behind, finishing in 115th place with a time of 27:05.
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