Williams College hosted the Purple Valley Classic, the first of many home meets at the Mount Greylock High School course for the Williams Cross Country team this season, on Saturday, September 22. The annual meet, which draws teams from around the Northeast region, also serves as a Williams Cross Country alumni reunion, with competitors racing in each of the 8-kilometer (8k) and 5-kilometer (5k) races.
The two race distances allow varsity and veteran runners to compete in the longer, more strenuous 8k race – while Williams freshmen, alumni, and runners wanting a shorter race distance early in the season can race the 5k course.
The Williams harriers pulled out a close victory in the 8k race against a strong Amherst College squad. The Eph’s scored 52 points to the Lord Jeff’s 64 points, as the team sent down by Dartmouth University finished third with 68 points. In the 5k race, the five scoring runners for the Ephs finished in the top-10, as Williams won the race with a score of 16.
Senior captain Grant Burgess ‘08 was thrilled with the competition in the races, and with the results posted by his teammates.
“It was great to have such strong competition in an early-season race,” Burgess said. “It was also good to see that in a lower-pressure situation, our team could still stack it up really well with good finishes among the pack.”
Though the Ephs secured the team victory in the 8k race, Hamilton College’s sophomore sensation Peter Kosgei (25:07) stole the individual crown from Williams alumnus and former Division III Cross Country national champion Neal Holtschulte ’06 (25:09) in a competitive race in which the two finished within seconds of each other. The first current Eph runner to cross the line was Edgar Kosgey ’10 (25:52) who had a standout race debut after a solid summer of training in Williamstown. The winner of the mens 5k race was Aaron Schwartz ’09 in a time of 16:42.
The Ephs’ four other scoring runners in the 8k race were Burgess (26:11) and Corey Watts ’10 (26:17), followed hotly by Corey Levin ’08 in an identical time of 26:17. Morgan Seyburt ’08 (26:24) rounded out the scoring five for Williams.
Temperatures on Saturday approached 80-degrees under clear, sunny skies – not typical autumn cross country weather. Senior runner Jim Clayton summed up the Eph’s success as dependent on the smart race plans employed by the team.
“The team handled the hot weather really well. We moved up in the second half of the race, which is what you should do in these conditions,” Clayton said.
The hot weather, though difficult to deal with for some runners, served to light a gorgeous setting for the alumni returning to race and reconnect with their former teammates. All around the Williams campsite, hugs were exchanged between runners past and present. Clayton, reflecting after the race, described the buoyant feelings held by many in attendance Saturday: “The atmosphere was simply euphoric.”
Men’s 8k
1) Kosgei – Hamilton – 25:07
2) Holtschulte – Alumni – 25:09
3) Dooley - Dartmouth
– 25:37
4) Kosgey – Williams – 25:52
5) Murner – Amherst – 26:00
6) Yochum – Amherst – 26:01
7) Zoblocki – Dartmouth – 26:02
8) Burgess – Williams – 26:11
9) Butcher – Middlebury – 26:12
10) Reichert – Amherst – 26:13
11) Han – Dartmouth – 26:16
12) Watts – Williams – 26:17
13) Levin – Williams- 26:17
14) Holaday – Amherst – 26:18
15) Seyburt – Williams – 26:24
16) Jackson – Williams – 26:33
17) Heymann – Plattsburgh –
26:34
18) Christian – Williams – 26:35
19) Crowther – Alumni – 26:54
20) Eldredge – Dartmouth – 26:57
21) Clayton – Williams – 27:00
22) Murphy – RPI – 27:03
23) Thistle – Susquehanna –
27:10
24) Waters – Middlebury – 27:11
25) Donais – RPI - 27:12
Team Scores:
1) Williams - 52
2) Amherst - 64
3) Dartmouth - 68
4) Middlebury - 137
5) Hamilton - 173
6) Plattsburgh - 270
7) Dowling - 338
8) Susquehanna - 341
9) Springfield - 401
10) MCLA - 619
