WELLESLEY, Mass. – The Brandeis University cross country teams open their 2018 campaign at Wellesley College with a five-kilometer race. The 28th-ranked women placed five of the top seven finishers to win their race with 19 points, while the men had three of the top five but finished second to Wentworth by just one point, 37-38. The Judges also had both individual champions, as senior three-time cross country All-American Emily Bryson (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) won the women's race and rookie Matthew Driben (Reading, Pa./Wyomissing) took the victory for the men.
On the women's side, Bryson rolled to a 27-second victory with a time of 18:11.7, with her twin sister Julia Bryson (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) finishing second in 18:38.1. The team's and the race's third finisher was a newcomer, Jac Guerra (Guilford, Conn./Guilford), who impressed with a time of 18:49.1. That mark was 20 seconds ahead of the next finisher from the Wellesley alumni team. After a Wellesley runner placed fifth, another Brandeis rookie, Erin Magill (South Duxbury, Vt./Harwood Union), finished in sixth place with a time of 19:46.1. Sophomore Andrea Bolduc (Auburn, Mass./Auburn) rounded out the team's top five with a seventh-place finish, just behind Magill in 19:58.7. Seniors Doyin Ogundiran (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) and Christine Minor (Alameda, Calif./Alameda) rounded out the top seven in 11th and 19th places, respectively.
On the men's side, Driben and sophomore Josh Lombardo (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) battled to the finish, with the rookie winning by 1.6 seconds, 16:35.0 to 16:36.6. Wentworth finishers were third and fourth, with another Brandeis rookie, Simon Powley (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) completing the top five with a time of 17:28.9. The next Judge did not cross the finish line for nearly a minute, with sophomore Eric Rosenheim (Haddon Heights, N.J./Haddon Heights) placing 13th in 18:25.8. Junior Ben Watson (Great Neck, N.Y./Great Neck North) rounded out the Brandeis scorers in 17th place with a time of 19:17.1.
The Judges return to action in two weeks on September 15th at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational.