Ephmen Win 5th Consecutive ECAC Championship
David Carlin'12, Sam Blackshear '10
Williamstown, MA--The Ephs won the ECAC Championships for the 5th consecutive year racing on their home course at Mt. Greylock Regional High School. With 50 teams at the meet representing 8 states, this year's Championships featured a wealth of strong Division III teams from the New England and Atlantic Regions. Williams College's team score of 85 points narrowly bested St. Vincent's who finished 2nd, scoring 89 points. The Bates Bobcats were third with a score of 101 points. NESCAC rival Amherst College finished 4th (111 points) while Vassar rounded out the top five (121).
Greg Redfield of Johnson & Wales University won the meet easily, making his move just after the first mile marker and running by himself for the rest of the race. His winning time of 26:11 represented a 21 second margin of victory over 2nd place finisher Kevin Wanichko of 2nd place St. Vincent. Doug Brecher of the 3rd place Bobcats was 3rd himself, covering the 8K distance in 26:48. Josh Grant of Lindon St. was not far behind and finished 4th (26:51) while Ben Flannagan of Hobart College fought his way to a 5th place finish (26:53). David Carlin '12 was the top finisher for team champion Williams College; Carlin finished 11th overall in 27:16. Teammates Jason Rapaport '11 and Geoff Rodriguez '11 were not far behind.
Besting fifty other teams without having a finisher in the top ten speaks to the depth of this year's edition of the Williams College “second 7”, as the ECAC race traditionally features the 8-14 runners of some competing teams. The Ephs utilized their depth by maintaining a solid pack throughout much of the race. Most of the team stuck together for the half of the race with Carlin making his move first just after a lengthy but gradual hill that ends at the second mile marker. Rapaport stayed on his heels for the rest of the race while Rodriguez tried to go with Rapaport. The dynamic freshman duo of Wade Davis and Brandon Abasolo also worked together, with Abasolo leading most of the way befoe Davis authored a strong last mile to finish in front of his classmate. Sam Jackson '10 and Andrew Gaidus '11 complete the roster for the victorious Ephs.
“Williams' harriers were farther back in the pack for the first half of the race and I thought our chances of repeating [as ECAC Champions] were pretty slim,” noted Williams College athlete Will Palmer. “In fact, it looked as though Amherst College had the race locked up halfway through the race. But credit our guys, we kept on fighting and moving up throughout the race. In the end, we had just enough to best St. Vincent's.”
