WALTHAM, Mass.- For the second year in a row, both the Brandeis men's and women's cross country teams have made an appearance in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national top 35 polls in the same week. The women entered the poll for the first time this season, debuting at No. 15, while the men are 21st.
The Brandeis women, who started the season unranked, moved into the poll on the strength of their showing at the UMass-Dartmouth Shriner's Invitational. The Judges were runners-up after placing their top five runners among the first 25 to cross the finish line. They came in behind only fifth-ranked MIT and ahead of then-No. 16 Colby College and Stonehill College, the No. 22 team in Division II. Brandeis is one of seven New England schools in the poll and one of six schools from the University Athletic Association in the top 35.
Junior Grayce Selig of Narberth, Pa., led the way for the Judges, completing the 5,000-meter course in 18:24, good for eighth place, five seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. Selig was followed by sophomore Kate Warwick of Boxborough, Mass., and junior Marie Lemay of Saco, Maine, who finished in 12th and 13th place, respectively with times of 18:32 and 18:36. For Warwick, it marked the third time in her career she was the team's second scorer.
Next up for the Judges was sophomore Alyssa Pisarik of Chelmsford, Mass., who came in 17th with a time of 18:47, while senior Ally Connolly of Concord, N.H., rounded out the scorers in 25th place with a time of 19:07. Ally's sister Beth, a senior, finished in 38th place in 19:18, just ahead of junior Hannah Lindholm of Madison, Wisc., who was 39th with a time of 19:19.
On the men's side, the Judges actually slipped from 13th place to 21st, as they finished in fourth place at UMass-Dartmouth, behind Keene State, which entered the poll at No. 11 this week, No. 15 Southern Maine and Stonehill, ranked No. 12 in Division II.
Leading the way for the Judges, who only had five runners competing, was junior Paul Norton of Amherst, Mass. Norton was third overall, second among Division III runners, with a time of 24:43 over the five-mile course. He earned UAA Athlete of the Week honors for his performance. A pair of sophomores, Chris Brown of No. Chelmsford, Mass., and Marc Boutin of Westford, Mass., were the team's next top finishers, coming in 13th and 24th, respectively, with times of 25:20 and 25:30. Junior Devon Holgate of Cumberland, R.I., was 29th with a time of 25:34, while classmate Sam Donovan of Newton, Mass., gave Brandeis five of the top 50 runners with a 48th-place finish in a time of 26:07.