After three weeks off to train and prepare, the Binghamton University men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh University last Friday. The men’s team finished 35th out of 37 teams, while the women finished 36th out of 40.
On the men’s side, sophomore Jesse Garn led the way for the Bearcats, finishing in a time of 25:26 to earn him 114th place. Sophomore Matt Johnson placed 177th with a time of 26:00 and freshman Ethan Hausamann ran the 8K race with a time of 26:11 to finish in 201st.
“Overall, it was kind of an OK day for us,” BU head coach Annette Acuff said. “Jesse Garn had a really good race. Last year, he really only got in a couple of cross country races and this was the first time he competed at Lehigh, so I think he ran really well.”
The men’s team has been plagued by injuries this year, including one to senior Jeff Martinez, who was unable to compete this past weekend.
“We were missing our top guy on the men’s side so that really kind of hurt us quite a bit,” Acuff said. “It was unfortunate Jeff wasn’t able to compete. He’s someone who could have probably finished in the top 50 so it kind of crushed our score a little bit. We had some kids that ran well, but we knew that we weren’t going to do as well as a team without some of our better guys.”
Senior Mark Dennin of Georgetown University finished first overall in a field of 332 runners to win the men’s race with a time of 23:57. Villanova University, which had 69 points, took home the team title.
On the women’s side, senior Rachel Miura was Binghamton’s top runner, covering the 6K course in a time of 22:01 to place 99th. She was the Bearcats’ only upperclassman to participate in the race.
Freshmen Alexis Hatcher and Lizzie Greiner finished with times of 23:12 and 23:29, placing 223rd and 246th, respectively.
Binghamton was anchored by its underclassmen, as six of the team’s top seven finishers were freshmen. Acuff saw this event as a great chance for her young team to gain some experience.
“Our freshmen girls handled the competitive level and that high profile of a meet very well,” Acuff said. “I thought they ran what they were capable of running. And it’s good experience for them going into the NCAA regional meet later this year.”
Junior Abbey D’Agostino of Dartmouth College dominated the 360-runner field with a time of 19:58, finishing a full 24 seconds ahead of second place. Cornell University, which had three top-10 finishers, captured the team title with 55 points.
The men’s team is set for action at the Princeton Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 13, while the women’s team is next scheduled to compete in the Central Connecticut Mini-Meet on Friday, Oct. 19.