Spring Break
CROSS COUNTRY: Men's team NCAA-bound
by Ian Cutler
Sports Editor
Sports | 11/18/08
Posted online at 2:24 AM EST on 11/18/08
In his rookie season last year, Paul Norton '11 took 81st place overall at the New England Division III championships. A year later, at the same event last Saturday, he jumped all the way up to ninth place, an improvement that led the men's club to the NCAA Championships for the first time in a decade.
Competing against a total of 330 runners, Norton finished first among Brandeis runners in the 8-kilometer race with a time of 26 minutes, 26.1 seconds, leading the men's cross-country team to a fourth-place finish out of 49 teams and to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1998.
"It's the beginning of a new and exciting time for our program." Norton said, "We have a big group of our key guys coming back next year, and there's been a lot of growth and improvement, and we still [have] room for more."
The women's team ended its season last Saturday with a 13th-place finish out of 39 teams at the New England Championships.
Four men's teams from the New England Region made the National Championships. Williams College and Amherst College each automatically reached the NCAA Championships by finishing first and second, respectively, at the New England Division III championships.
A team must place within the top five of its regional championships to be eligible for the NCAA Championships. Trinity College received a bid by finishing third in Saturday's meet, and the Judges took the last New England spot. Bowdoin College finished fifth in the New England Division III Championships, but Brandeis coach John Evans said Bowdoin did not have enough quality victories to get into the tournament.
"I figured if we finished in the top five, we'd be selected because the New England region is so strong," Evans said. "We've beat some nationally ranked teams [this season], so to be fourth, we were comfortable."
The Judges' finish placed them ahead of top teams like No. 13 Keene State College and No. 23 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which finished 7th and 8th respectively.
Competing against a total of 330 runners, Norton finished first among Brandeis runners in the 8-kilometer race with a time of 26 minutes, 26.1 seconds, leading the men's cross-country team to a fourth-place finish out of 49 teams and to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1998.
"It's the beginning of a new and exciting time for our program." Norton said, "We have a big group of our key guys coming back next year, and there's been a lot of growth and improvement, and we still [have] room for more."
The women's team ended its season last Saturday with a 13th-place finish out of 39 teams at the New England Championships.
Four men's teams from the New England Region made the National Championships. Williams College and Amherst College each automatically reached the NCAA Championships by finishing first and second, respectively, at the New England Division III championships.
A team must place within the top five of its regional championships to be eligible for the NCAA Championships. Trinity College received a bid by finishing third in Saturday's meet, and the Judges took the last New England spot. Bowdoin College finished fifth in the New England Division III Championships, but Brandeis coach John Evans said Bowdoin did not have enough quality victories to get into the tournament.
"I figured if we finished in the top five, we'd be selected because the New England region is so strong," Evans said. "We've beat some nationally ranked teams [this season], so to be fourth, we were comfortable."
The Judges' finish placed them ahead of top teams like No. 13 Keene State College and No. 23 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which finished 7th and 8th respectively.
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