The Raiders Set the Pace at the Colgate Invitational

Matt Flannery

On Saturday September 17, the Colgate men’s and women’s cross country teams stayed at home for the final time this sea­son while participating in the Colgate In­vitational at the Harry Lang Cross Coun­try Course. The men’s squad placed third overall, anchored by the impressive second place, record-breaking finish by junior Chris Johnson. The women’s team also placed third overall, led by consistent senior Elise DeRoo, who placed 12th overall in the event.

The men’s team echoed a strong second-place performance at home on September 3 with this week’s third-place finish (72 points). Junior team leader Chris Johnson excelled at this weekend’s meet, smashing the Colgate record by a whole 19 seconds in the 8K race. Johnson snapped the tape in 25:19, just one second behind first place finisher Pat Dupont of Syracuse University. Johnson seemed surprised by the record time saying, “I knew I was on pace for a good time since I was able to stick with [Dupont] for so long, but I wasn’t even thinking about setting the school record.”

The invitational was particularly prom­ising for the team’s future, as the Raiders’s top young talent came out of the gates fast en route to several impressive performanc­es. First-year Ben Aldrich was the second Raider to complete the grueling course, crossing the line in just 27:06. Classmate Everett Stilley was close behind, crossing the finish line just 15 seconds after his peer. Sophomore Tim Phelps, who impressed as a first-year last season, was the third Colgate runner to cross the line, finishing the race in 27:15. Syracuse University took home first place in the event, totaling 29 points. Cor­nell tallied 36 points en route to a second place overall finish. The Raiders will be pre­paring for the next two weeks for the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University on Septem­ber 30. When asked how the team would be preparing, Johnson noted that the Raid­ers will possibly lower their mileage in the coming weeks while increasing their inten­sity, with the hope of peaking at the Patriot League Championships in late-October.

The women’s team churned out an equally impressive performance on Satur­day, taking home third place in the Col­gate Invitational. However, where the men’s performance was marked by the emergence of young talent, the women’s was defined by senior leadership and con­sistency. Senior phenom Elise DeRoo once again anchored the Colgate squad, placing 12th overall with a final time of 22:11. Classmates Kendall Lyons (23rd overall) and Kelly Cattano (40th overall) were the second and third Colgate runners to cross the finish line. Lyons and Cattano finished with times of 22:46 and 24:03, respec­tively. The women’s team, like the men’s, will now spend the next two weeks pre­paring for what figures to be a significant challenge in the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsyl­vania. The race will be held on Saturday, September 30.

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