Spring Break
XCOUNTRY: Norton paces team at UAAs
by Julie Ganz
Sports editor
Sports | 11/4/08
Posted online at 2:33 AM EST on 11/4/08
For the third time this season, Paul Norton '11 had the fastest time among men's cross-country runners. But it was a balanced effort among the squad's top five finishers that propelled the Judges to a fourth-place finish at last Saturday's University Athletic Association Championships in Conyers, Ga.
"Our spread was really good," Norton said. "From our first runner to our fifth runner, it was only [about] 19 seconds [of separation], and from second to fifth was [about] seven seconds."
Norton was one of five Brandeis runners who finished in the top 25 as the Judges scored 102 points, beating No. 12 Case Western Reserve University by six points for fourth place out of eight teams. The women's team, on the other hand, finished in seventh place out of eight teams at Saturday's tournament with 185 points.
Norton, who said he was among the top 10 runners at one point during the race, suffered stomach pains for about a mile, which put him back around 30th place before he recovered to finish 15th out of 78 runners with a time of 26 minutes, 24.14 seconds.
"I think I could have been, like, top five or so if things had gone better," Norton said. "It was a little frustrating, but it wouldn't have made a difference in the team scoring, so I'm not that upset."
Marc Boutin '12, who placed 19th, finished just over five seconds behind Norton. Boutin was the first rookie to finish the race and earned the UAA Rookie of the Year honors. It was the second straight year that a Brandeis runner earned the award. Last season, Mekonen Gendebo '11 took the honor by finishing in ninth place in the race.
"That was really exciting, definitely the highlight of the day was having the Rookie of the Year," Norton said.
Kerwin Vega '11 placed two spots behind Boutin at 21st, and Chris Brown '12 and Zach Schwartz '11 rounded out the Judges' scoring with times of 26:41.77 and 26:42.99, respectively, good for 23rd and 24th place overall.
"Our spread was really good," Norton said. "From our first runner to our fifth runner, it was only [about] 19 seconds [of separation], and from second to fifth was [about] seven seconds."
Norton was one of five Brandeis runners who finished in the top 25 as the Judges scored 102 points, beating No. 12 Case Western Reserve University by six points for fourth place out of eight teams. The women's team, on the other hand, finished in seventh place out of eight teams at Saturday's tournament with 185 points.
Norton, who said he was among the top 10 runners at one point during the race, suffered stomach pains for about a mile, which put him back around 30th place before he recovered to finish 15th out of 78 runners with a time of 26 minutes, 24.14 seconds.
"I think I could have been, like, top five or so if things had gone better," Norton said. "It was a little frustrating, but it wouldn't have made a difference in the team scoring, so I'm not that upset."
Marc Boutin '12, who placed 19th, finished just over five seconds behind Norton. Boutin was the first rookie to finish the race and earned the UAA Rookie of the Year honors. It was the second straight year that a Brandeis runner earned the award. Last season, Mekonen Gendebo '11 took the honor by finishing in ninth place in the race.
"That was really exciting, definitely the highlight of the day was having the Rookie of the Year," Norton said.
Kerwin Vega '11 placed two spots behind Boutin at 21st, and Chris Brown '12 and Zach Schwartz '11 rounded out the Judges' scoring with times of 26:41.77 and 26:42.99, respectively, good for 23rd and 24th place overall.
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