Williams Men win NESCAC cross country championship
The Williams Men won the NESCAC cross country championship Satruday, October 27, on their home turf over runner-up Amherst College. Williams finished with a leading score of 47 points to Amherst’s 86 to take their second victory in two weeks over the NESCAC rival. Last week, Williams came out ahead of Amherst in the Little Three Championships.
Finishing third in a tight battle was Bowdoin College, which nosed out Trinity College, 98 points to 109.
The individual winner over the 8000-meter race was Peter Kosgei of Hamilton College in a time of 25:52, an impressive time taking into account the steady rain and mud on the course. Rounding out the top three finishers were Will Yochum (26:21) of Amherst College and William College’s own Edgar Kosgey ‘10 in 26:29.
Williams’ scoring-five runners continued their impressive pack-running, as all five harriers finished within 20 mud-streaked seconds of each other. Following Kosgey for the Ephs was Corey Levin ’08 in 6th place with a time of 26:37. Junior Brendan Christian ’09 was 8th, just two seconds back in 26:39, as Corey Watts ‘10 followed in 26:43 for 13th place. Grant Burgess ‘08 filled out the pack, as he sprinted down the crowd-lined straightaway in 17th with a time of 26:48.
Times on the course were slower than normal due to the inclement weather. The race gun went off under cloudy skies and rainy conditions, with moderate-to-heavy winds blowing across the fields during the race. As miserable as the weather may have been, it came nowhere near the maelstrom of last year’s NESCAC championship race at Connecticut College. That race, which was run in near-hurricane conditions, is memorable for knee-deep water and the infamous “NESCAC rash” picked up by competitors as they trudged through a flooded marshland.
The course at Mt. Greylock provided many challenges to racers. The race went off in an open field with rain slanting into the runners. Puddles marked the terrain all throughout the course. In the forest loops, the woodchips lining the ground had been churned beneath inches of mud, reducing traction to a minimum; navigating turns became treacherous as runners wiped out while making their way over the slick terrain.
The open race provided the worst footing of the day since two full varsity races had already charged through the course. Despite the torn-up terrain, juniors Brooks Udelsman ’09 and Ben Swimm ’09 gutted out 2nd and 3rd place finishes behind Alex Batalgino, who ran unattached. The two runners led a purple streak of 10 Williams finishers in the top-20 of the race.
The next race on the schedule for the Williams men is the ECAC championships on November 3, which will also be held at Mt. Greylock High School.
