WALTHAM, Mass. - The Brandeis University women's cross country team has earned their first national ranking of the season in the United State Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Judges are ranked 29th among Division III institutions.
Brandeis, under fifth-year head coach John Evans, earned their national ranking thanks in part to a fine showing at the UMass Dartmouth Shriners Invitational on Sept. 20. The Judges finished in third place at the meet, behind only No. 8-ranked MIT, who won the meet, and No. 2 Amherst, who came in second. The Judges finished two points ahead of No. 18 Colby College, ranked 11th at the time.
The Judges were led at UMass Dartmouth by University Athletic Association (UAA) Runner of the Week Marie Lemay of Saco, Maine. Lemay came in 11th overall and ninth among Division III competitors. She finished the five-kilometer race in 18:43, just five seconds out of sixth place. Rookie Kate Warwick of Boxborough, Mass., was right behind Lemay with a time of 18:51, good for 16th overall and 14th among DIII runners, while classmate Alyssa Pisarik of Chelmsford, Mass., finished in 28th place overall (24th DIII) with a time of 19:06. Sophomore Hannah Lindholm of Madison, Wisc., came in 38th overall in 19:25 and Pisarik's older sister Beth rounded out the scorers for the Judges in 42nd place, two seconds behind Lindholm. The Judges were competing at UMass Dartmouth without sophomore Grayce Selig of Narberth, Pa., who was their top finisher in a season-opening meet with Division II Bentley College.
Brandeis is one of three UAA teams in the top 35, joining No. 10 Case Western Reserve and No. 21 Emory. Other New England schools in the ranking, in addition to Amherst, Colby and MIT, are No. 9 Middlebury and No. 14 Williams. The Judges are next in action on October 11 at the Open New England Championships at Franklin Park in Boston. They will not be competing in their originally scheduled meet on Sept. 27, the Codfish Bowl in Franklin Park.
The complete poll is available at the USTFCCCA web site.