Spring Break
XCOUNTRY: Underclassmen allow Judges to have strong finishes Saturday
by Mike Prada
Editor in Chief
Sports | 10/16/07
Posted online at 9:08 PM EST on 10/15/07
/ Last updated at 12:30 PM EST on 10/15/07
Last weekend's Albany Invitational featured the return of 2006 all-University Athletic Association cross country runner Tim Condon '08, but it was the younger performers who stole the show for the Judges.
Led by top-50 performances from rookies Mekonen Gendebo '11, Dan Anastos '11, Paul Norton '11 and Kerwin Vega '11, the men's cross country team finished in fifth place out of 26 teams Saturday in the eight-kilometer run.
The women's team, racing only rookies and sophomores, finished 16th place in the five-kilometer run, paced by Marie Lemay '11 and Ally Connolly '10.
The men's team's finish was higher than 11 Division I schools and was second among Division III schools, behind only the Rochester Institute of Technology.
"We're really upbeat about [this race]," Gendebo said. "We've had some bad races in the past weeks, so we proved [this week] that we're better than that."
Gendebo had the Judges' best individual finish for the third consecutive meet, coming in 23rd place with a time of 26 minutes, 1 second.
It was his fastest time in an eight-kilometer race this season and was 45 seconds faster than his team-leading time in last week's Open New England Championships.
"I ran an even pace for the first four miles, but I was much faster in the last mile," Gendebo said.
Matt Jennings '09 was the lone upperclassman among the Judges' top five finishers, coming in second on the team and 31st overall with a time of 26:16 after not racing last weekend.
The times of the Judges' next four finishers-Anastos, Norton, Vega and Condon-were all within 10 seconds of each other, a balance that propelled the Judges to fifth place.
Anastos, Norton and Vega all contributed to Brandeis' point total, finishing right next to each other in 41st, 42nd and 43rd place, respectively.
Condon was just behind them in 48th place with a time of 26:32, but because only the top five runners count toward the team's point
Led by top-50 performances from rookies Mekonen Gendebo '11, Dan Anastos '11, Paul Norton '11 and Kerwin Vega '11, the men's cross country team finished in fifth place out of 26 teams Saturday in the eight-kilometer run.
The women's team, racing only rookies and sophomores, finished 16th place in the five-kilometer run, paced by Marie Lemay '11 and Ally Connolly '10.
The men's team's finish was higher than 11 Division I schools and was second among Division III schools, behind only the Rochester Institute of Technology.
"We're really upbeat about [this race]," Gendebo said. "We've had some bad races in the past weeks, so we proved [this week] that we're better than that."
Gendebo had the Judges' best individual finish for the third consecutive meet, coming in 23rd place with a time of 26 minutes, 1 second.
It was his fastest time in an eight-kilometer race this season and was 45 seconds faster than his team-leading time in last week's Open New England Championships.
"I ran an even pace for the first four miles, but I was much faster in the last mile," Gendebo said.
Matt Jennings '09 was the lone upperclassman among the Judges' top five finishers, coming in second on the team and 31st overall with a time of 26:16 after not racing last weekend.
The times of the Judges' next four finishers-Anastos, Norton, Vega and Condon-were all within 10 seconds of each other, a balance that propelled the Judges to fifth place.
Anastos, Norton and Vega all contributed to Brandeis' point total, finishing right next to each other in 41st, 42nd and 43rd place, respectively.
Condon was just behind them in 48th place with a time of 26:32, but because only the top five runners count toward the team's point
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