KEENE, N.H. – The Brandeis University men's cross country team excelled at the 2014 Keene State Invitational on Saturday morning, producing a first-place team finish as well as the top two individual finishers.
The Judges won for the second time in three meets, besting a field of 11 teams. With five of the top 15 finishers, Brandeis edged KSC, 30-35, for the top spot. The Judges had a spread of 1:10 between their top five runners.
Leading the way once again for the Judges was senior Jarret Harrigan (Ipswich, Mass./St. Johns Prep), who earned his first collegiate win to go with a pair of second-place finishes. After placing sixth at Keene State a year ago, Harrigan shaved a full 30 seconds off his time to finish the 8K course in 26:33 to best the field of 126 runners. Harrigan edged rookie teammate Ryan Stender (Amherst, Mass./Amherst), who had his best collegiate showing on eight kilometers with a time of 26:34 to place second. Sophomore Matt Doran (Hopedale, Mass./Hopedale), who was 17th at this meet in 2013, moved up nine spots to place eighth overall with a time of 27:18, an improvement of 38 seconds.
Rookie Liam Garvey (West Springfield, Mass./West Springfield) missed his best placement of the year by two spots, finishing 11th overall with a time of 27:27, good for fourth on the Judges. Junior Grady Ward (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) rounded out the Judges' top five in 14th place with a time of 27:43, a showing of 18 seconds and five places better from his sophomore year. Rookie Brian Sheppard (Whitman, Mass./Whitman-Hanson Regional) and sophomore Brad Payne (Westport, Conn./Staples) placed 20th and 25th overall, in 29:32 and 29:01, respectively, to make the Judges the first team with all seven of their scorers across the finish line.
The Judges return to action in two weeks to compete at the Connecticut College Invitational.