NO. DARTMOUTH, Mass.   –  The Brandeis University cross country teams continued their fast starts to the 2015 season today as both  the Judge men and women captured the titles at the 2015 UMass Dartmouth Invitational. The men bested 43 other teams over five miles, while the women were the tops out of 42 squads over five kilometers. It marked the second-straight win for the men, while the women earned a win after finishing second the week before.

MEN

TOP FIVE TEAMS (43 total)

1)      BRANDEIS 93

2)      East Stroudsburg 116

3)      Connecticut College125

4)      Franklin Pierce 141

5)      Keene State 176

BRANDEIS INDIVIDUAL FINISHERS (5 Miles, 324 competitors)

1)      Ryan Stender 25:20.20 (4^th overall)

2)      Mitchell Hutton 25:45.26 (13^th)

3)      Brian Sheppard 26:05.42 (26^th)

4)     Eli Waxler 26:16.34 (29^th)

5)      Matt Doran 26:21.81 (33^rd)

6)      Roger Lacroix 26:49.16 (57^th)

7)      Max Whitmore 27:23.31 (92^nd)

8)      Russell Santos 27:36.83 (107^th)

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• For the second week in a row, the Judges defeated a Division 2 squad, this time topping East Stroudsburg (Pa.)
• Sophomore Ryan Stender (Amherst, Mass./Amherst) led the team for the second week in a row. He was second among Division 3 runners by two seconds and fourth overall, seven seconds back.
• Rookie Eli Waxler (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville)made his collegiate debut with a top-30 showing
• The Judges had five of the top 33 runners with a spread of 1:01.
• The finish was Brandeis's best at UMass Dartmouth in more than a decade. The Judges' best recent placement was second in 2011,

WOMEN

TOP FIVE TEAMS (42 total)

1)      BRANDEIS 49

2)      East Stroudsburg 79

3)      Connecticut College 80

4)      Keene State 103

5)      Assumption 238

BRANDEIS INDIVIDUAL FINISHERS (5K, 315 runners)

1)      Emily Bryson 18:09.84 (5^rd overall)

2)      Kelsey Whitaker 18:23.75 (8^th)

3)      Maddie Dolins 19:29.09 (10^th)

4)      Lydia McCaleb 18:43.65 (14^th)

5)      Kate Farrell 18:50.06 (20^th)

6)      Julia Bryson 19:28.53 (34^th)

7)      Ashley Piccirillo-Horan 19:43.69 (45^th)

8)      Maggie Hensel 19:57.46 (65^th)          

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Rookie Emily Bryson (Quincy, Mass./No. Quincy) was the team's top finisher for the second week in a row, placing fifth overall and third among Division 3 competitors. She was three seconds out of the top 3 overall.
• Senior Kelsey Whitaker (Kingston, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) bounced back from the team's fourth position last week to move into second on the team and eighth overall.
• Junior Maddie Dolins (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park) gave the Judges three of the top 10 despite not being one of the team's top two runners for the first time in her career.
• With five of the top 20 runners, the Judges easily outdistanced second-place East Stroudsburg, a Division 2 school, 49-79.
• The team's spread was just 43 seconds  from first to fifth.  
• Since 2002, the Judges have had three runner-up finishes at UMass Dartmouth, including in their NCAA season two years ago, but have not won it until now.