Liam Garvey '18 (photo by Sportspix/Ethan Glass)
Posted: Sep 17, 2016
DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Brandeis University women's cross country team won its second-straight race of the 2016 season today, as the Judges successfully defended their crown at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational. With 99 points, the Judges outpaced second-place Stonehill College, 99-111. The field was comprised of 37 teams and 275 runners. On the men's side, Brandeis was unable to defend their title, finishing fifth overall out of 33 squads. Two of the top four teams were from Division II. Brandeis totaled 193 points, 13 behind Westfield State. The Judges were running without top junior Ryan Stender (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional).
FOR THE WOMEN
- Sophomore Emily Bryson (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) was the team's top finisher once again. She improved on last year's fifth place finish by coming in third. Bryson covered the five-kilometer course in 17:50.83, shaving 19 seconds off her time from 2015.
- Brandeis put two more finishers in the top 10. Senior Kate Farrell (Windham, N.H./Windham) took eighth with a time of 18:28.66. A year ago, she took 20th overall and ran 22 seconds faster. Emily's twin sister Julia Bryson(Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) was just behind in ninth in 18:30.74, in her first varsity effort at UMass Dartmouth.
- Rookie Danielle Bertaux (Prides Crossing, Mass./Beverly) came in 29th overall in the largest meet of her young collegiate career, running a time of 19:11.96.
- Sophomore Meaghan Barry (Marlborough, Mass./Worcester Academy) rounded out the top five for the Judges by finishing in 50th place with a time of 19:27.87. Classmate Christine Minor (Alameda, Calif./Alameda)was the team's final runner in the varsity race, coming in 82nd with a time of 20:05.56.
- In all, the Judges' average time of 18:42.02 was 14 seconds faster than Stonehill.
FOR THE MEN
- Junior Liam Garvey (West Springfield, Mass./West Springfield)was Brandeis's top finisher for the first time in his career, covering the eight-kilometer course in 25:36.20. He came in 12th overall, seventh among D3 runners. Garvey's previous race at UMass Dartmouth, in 2014, saw him finish 47th in nearly 50 more seconds.
- Senior Quinton Hoey (Watertown, Conn./Watertown) returned to UMD for the first time since his sophomore year. He completed the race in 26:16.80, good for 33rd place,
- Junior Brian Sheppard (Whitman, Mass./Whitman-Hanson Regional) came in 36th, down 10 spots from last year, with a time of 26:20.43, about 15 seconds of his 2015 pace.
- Classmate Russell Santos (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) ran his first varsity race at UMD and placed 60th in 27:04.08, a 22-second improvement over his JV time in 2014.
- Sophomore Eli Waxler (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville) rounded out the top five by finishing 27:09.15, good for 65th place.
- Senior Brad Payne (Westport, Conn./Staples) and rookie Sam Reich (New York, N.Y./H.S. of American Studies at Lehman College) were the Judges' final competitors, coming 74th and 88th with times of 27:15.17 and 27:35.57.
- Brandeis also had six runners in the sub-varsity race, coming in third of 14 squads with 104 points. Rookie Dan Curley (Norwood, Mass./Norwood) placed fourth in 27:01.59