WELLESLEY, Mass. – The nationally-ranked Brandeis University cross country teams opened their seasons tonight with wins over a pair of small fields. The #32 men topped two other schools by finishing third through 11th, while the #33 women were one point shy of a perfect score against three squads.
The women missed a perfect 15-point score by just seven-tenths of a second. Juniors Emily Bryson and Julia Bryson (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) both broke 19 minutes for the five-kilometer course at Nehoiden Golf Course. Emily won the race in 18:31.8, while Julia was second in 18:58.8. Junior Meaghan Barry (Marlborough, Mass./Worcester Academy) was third in 19:32.7, while rookie Niamh Kenney (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) was fourth in her collegiate debut with a time of 19:33.9. A runner from host Wellesley edged sophomore Danielle Berteaux (Prides Crossing, Mass./Beverly) to prevent the perfect 15. Berteaux turned in a time of 19:41.2 to finish sixth. Two more rookies finished out the Judges' top seven with Natalie Iwaszkiewicz (Woodbridge, Conn./Amity Regional) taking eighth in 19:55.7 and Andrea Bolduc (Marlborough, Mass./Auburn) finishing 11th in 20:20.2.
On the men's side, Brandeis rested their top two runners, but a trio of newcomers led the way. After a pair of Wentworth Leopards took the top two spots in the 38-runnner race, the next nine were all Judges. Luke Ostrander (Tacoma, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) paced the Brandeis contingent, running 16:30.1, about three seconds behind the runner-up. Mark Murdy (Plantsville, Conn./Southington)b was fourth in 16:32.3, while Josh Lombardo (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) was fifth in 16:36.0 to round out the top rookies. A pair of seniors, Max Whitmore (Wayne, N.J./Neward Academy) and Brian Sheppard (Whitman, Mass./Whitman-Hanson Regional) were next in 16:43.7 and 16:55.7. Sophomore Dan Curley (Norwood, Mass./Norwood), rookie Harper Pollio-Barbee (Philadelphia, Pa./Penn Charter) and sophomores Brian Gao (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton) and Samuel Reich (New York, N.Y./H.S. of American Studies) rounded out the group of nine leaders.
The Judges return to action in two weeks for the UMass Dartmouth Invitational.