Ephs Set to Host ECAC Division III Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships This Saturday
COMPLETE 2012 Results
Amherst Men Win ECAC Division III Cross Country Championship
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- Amherst won the ECAC Division III title with 44 points and Bates finished in second with 54. Both these teams had a solid pack up front that was difficult to overcome. Amherst had three runners in the top 5, and Bates had 4 runners in the top 11.
Amherst won their first ECAC cross country title on the strength of the trio of Dillon Buckley (3rd), Gus Greenstein (4th), and Romey Sklar (5th). Overall the Lord Jeffs placed all five of their top scoring runners in the top 17 places as Dan Crowley finished 15th and Alvaro Morales came in 17th.
Host Williams finsihed third with a team score of 84.
Middlebury Women Win ECAC Division III Cross Country Championship
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – The Middlebury women defended their 2011 title at the 2012 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference hosted by Williams on Saturday.
Fifty-one teams competed in Saturday's ECAC championship. White-capped mountains provided a backdrop to the races on a windy morning with temps in the low forties. Hurricane Sandy took down a few trees on the course, so crews were working hard all week to prepare the course, which was in ideal condition by Saturday.
Drew's Jennifer Van Wingerden took the individual victory finishing the hilly 6k course in 22:54. Middlebury's Lucy Whipps was just behind in 22:57. William Smith's Emily D'Addario took third (23:11), followed by Williams' Meg Richardson (23:16), who was the first freshman to cross the line. Gabriella Gaudreault from Springfield rounded out the top five (23:21).
The Panthers, led by Whipps, pulled away with a very low-scoring, 31 point, victory with four runners in the top ten and all their scorers in the top eleven. Tufts packed up well with all their scorers in the top 20 to earn second place (63). Host Williams was third (140).
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – If hurricane Sandy cooperates Williams College will once again host the ECAC Division III Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships on the Ephs' home layouts at Mt. Greylock High School south of the Williams campus Saturday.
One of the most attractive features of the two layouts at Mt. Greylock is that both the men's and women's layouts are entirely situated on grass and dirt trails that are favored with wide trails and challenging hills.
"We love hosting this Championship, which features teams from colleges and universities from many states and from many hundreds of miles away, along the east coast from Maine to Virginia and inland to Pittsburgh and Erie," said Eph men's and women's head coach Peter Farwell. "Our course is true cross country with grass and trails, flat and hills, open and woodland. Plus it is highly scenic and affords the best of spectating."
Farwell's Eph men's team has won an unprecedented seven consecutive ECAC Championship races. On the women's side Middlebury is the defending champion. "Williams is excited to host this multi-regional Championship which always has exciting competition for the individual and team titles," Farwell noted.
This marks the seventh time the Ephs have hosted the ECAC Division III Championships, with the last six being held at Mt. Greylock HS. In 1995 the races were held on the famed Taconic Golf Club just south of Weston Field.
50 men's teams and 51 women's teams will be competing this weekend in Williamstown for the 2012 ECAC Championship. Each race will have over 300 runners.
ECAC Division III Cross Country Championships page.