The Williams men’s cross country team finished in 10th
place with 399 points at the NCAA national championships at St.
Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Sophomore leader Edgar
Kosgey narrowly missed All-American honors with 36th place in a
time of 25:14 over the 8K course. Williams was the top New England
team and edged arch-rival Amherst, who finished in 12th place only
four points behind the Ephs.
The chilly mid-November morning began with a light snow falling,
convincing the hardy Williams athletes that today was their day to
excel. All the runners had committed huge amounts of time and
energy to this final race and had overcome substantial obstacles to
reach the “big dance.” For three seniors, Morgan
Seybert and captains Corey Levin and Grant Burgess, this was their
last chance to compete in collegiate cross country. Months of solid
training had prepared them to race against the best in the nation,
and they set their goals accordingly. Meanwhile, junior Brendan
Christian had had a roller coaster of a fall and was looking for a
storybook ending to this trying season. Christian spent the summer
in Flagstaff, Arizona, living alone and training at altitude,
solemnly devoting himself to the sport of cross country. His hard
work finally paid off with breakout performances in the latter half
of the season, but in the past several weeks, he had struggled with
a mysterious side ache and fought bravely through the pain in last
week’s regional championship. Sophomores Corey Watts and
Connor Kamm had also trained relentlessly for months over the
summer and fall and were committed to putting everything on the
line for the team. Watts was competing despite a nasty cough on top
of food poisoning he acquired at dinner two nights before the race.
Finally, pressure was mounting on Kosgey, who had proven himself
this season as one of the top runners in the nation.
When the men’s race began at 1 PM central time, the snow had
stopped and temperatures had risen into the forties. The Williams
harriers sprung off the line and established themselves in
excellent position in the middle of the pack. The relatively flat
course would take the runners through a couple of rolling woods
loops, including one in a nature preserve where spectators were not
allowed. Although the course did not play to the hill running
strengths of the Ephs, they had trained on a golf course the past
two weeks and were fully prepared to increase their turnover and
leg speed to meet the challenge at hand.
The large and talented field served as another test for Williams.
Normally the Ephs like to run together in small packs, but finding
one’s teammate was difficult in the swarm of strong
competitors at this national meet. The Ephs had to remind
themselves that even if they couldn’t see their teammates,
they were never far away, and everyone was counting on each other
to leave everything on the course for the success of the team.
Kosgey ran most of the race in the top 35, running in his
characteristic smooth and relaxed form. A pack of competitors
partially overwhelmed him in the last half-mile, preventing him
from attaining All-American. Levin began the race not too far
behind Kosgey, but slowly gave up ground during the middle miles of
the race. He dug deep during the finishing stretch and completed a
gutsy race with a time of 25:47, good for 92nd place. Christian
also got the ending he deserved to this tough season, finishing in
a solid time of 25:55 for 120th place. Seybert had his best
performance of the season, capturing 140th in 26:02. Watts was only
two seconds behind in 150th and Kamm was 184th in 26:16. Rounding
out the Williams squad with a fearless performance was Burgess in
26:44.
“Nationals is a big step up from New Englands,” head
coach Pete Farwell said. "Our team isn’t quite as
battle-sharpened as the Midwestern teams, which attend highly
competitive meets throughout the season.” Nevertheless, the
Ephs captured a top ten finish, which is always Farwell’s
goal at the NCAA championships. Beating Amherst after the Lord
Jeffs barely overcame the Ephs by one point last weekend at the
regional championships was a much-welcomed bonus.
