This past weekend the Colgate men’s and women’s cross country teams headed to Boston for the NCAA Regional qualifiers. Both teams struggled in response to the heightened competition presented by the MAAC and Big East teams that were represented at the meet, the women taking home 27th of 35, and the men placing 29th of 36.

The women’s team, which had an otherwise successful season, experienced a disappointing finish at the Regional qualifier, due in part to the absence of Elise DeRoo, who was consistently Colgate’s strongest runner throughout the season. DeRoo was out with what Head Coach Laura Nardelli called “upper respiratory illness.” Three other Raiders entered the meet with strep throat, but all battled hard for Colgate in the meet. In Deroo’s absence, sophomores Kelly Cattano (110th overall) and Chelsea Burns (123rd) as well as first-year Caroline Prins (139th) stepped up for Colgate. The trio posted times of 24:34, 24:47 and 25:03, respectively. Emily Oliver, Stacey Marion and Julianne Tarallo rounded out Colgate’s six runners. The Raiders finished with a total team time of 2:05:03, which was about 12 ½ minutes off the pace of the first-place Syracuse Orange. Syracuse dominated the rest of the competition in Boston, placing all six of their runners in the top-30 overall, including individual meet winner Katie Hursey. Providence and Stony Brook rounded out the top three teams at the meet.

Throughout the regular season, the Raiders consistently placed in the top-5 in team meets while led by sophomore Elise DeRoo, who was awarded Patriot League’s Most Outstanding Runner, among other accolades. That said, under the heightened competition presented by larger Division-1 programs, Colgate was not quite as victorious as they had been previously.

“The best teams in the Northeast were there, with the Big East and Ivy League offering amazing competition,” Head Coach Laura Nardelli said.

The team will look to finish off their season on a positive note on Saturday, when they compete in the ECAC championship meet at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. The race time is set for 11 a.m.

The men’s team also struggled while facing the tougher competition presented by the NCAA regional qualifier. The squad did have the benefit of a healthy, full-strength team for the meet, but they shared the women’s disappointing end. Ed Sheridan placed first for Colgate (95th overall) with a final time of 33:49. First-year Chris Johnson and junior John Stauffer rounded out Colgate’s top-three with times of 34:55 and 35:04, respectively. Dan Gleason, Bryan Crowley and Griffith Cannon made up the rest of Colgate’s six. The team finished with a total time of 2:54:27, about 17 minutes off of the winning time by Syracuse. Iona and Providence rounded out the top three overall teams, with Ryan Sheridan of Iona taking home the individual title.

Up next for the men’s team is the IC4A Championship, also to be held at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City on November 21.