Men’s and women’s cross country each finish in 12th place
The Saint Joseph’s University men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the Princeton Invitational in New Jersey on Oct. 14. The men finished 12th in a field of 21 teams, while the women also finished 12th in a field of 20.
Leading the men was graduate student Dan Savage, who set a collegiate-best time of 24:42.8, coming in at 29th in a race that saw 205 take the starting line. Sophomore Zach Michon came in at 48th place, while classmate Josh Clark came in at 56th, each continuing their productive seasons and both setting personal records. Completing the scoring were seniors Collin Crilly and David Dorsey, who came in 83rd and 86th respectively.
Savage felt the team left some things on the table.
“I was happy [about his performance],” Savage said. “PR’s [personal record] always a good day when you look at it. But, it was not the best day for the team. So while I was happy, it was still bittersweet. I’d rather the team’s success more than my own.”
For the women, the Hawks were once again led by senior Cassidy Weimer and her time of 22:15.5, a season best which was good for 22nd place in a field of 179. Following behind Weimer was junior Lindsey Oremus, who also set a season best with a time of 22:32.1 and a 41st place finish. Junior Elaine Estes earned a 54th place finish, sophomore Emily Bracken finished 61st and graduate student Sydney Coughlin came in at 82nd, rounding out the top five for the women.
Oremus felt similarly to Savage about how their races went.
“I don’t even know if I would call it a season best [on her finishing time],” Oremus said. “Definitely wasn’t one of my top races. I didn’t put myself mentally into that race at all. Thankfully, I have teammates who step up. Cass [ Weimer] did awesome yesterday. Elaine Estes stepped up to the plate.”
The Hawks have two weeks off before heading back to Leesburg, Va. for the Atlantic 10 championship on Oct. 28. Both squads understand that preparation is key to success.
“I think it’s just along the lines of continuing getting ready for those hills and also working more towards sticking in a group and that group mentality, which will hopefully allow us to do something up a A-10 [Atlantic 10],” Savage said of the men’s prospects.
Oremus also reiterated the need for substantial preparedness in order to succeed.
“I really think this time of year, a lot of the hard work is done.” Oremus explained. “At this point in the season, it’s all about mental, it’s the little things. It’s keeping the junk food cut out, it’s not going out on weekends and staying up until 2 a.m.”
Looking back on the season and how he and the team has progressed, Savage is aware of pitfalls, but optimistic for the future.
“There’s always bumps in the road, so I consider it to be that way still,” Savage said. “Princeton wasn’t exactly how we wanted it to turn out, but the same thing happened to us two years ago and then we went on to win the A-10 championship. Overall, I think the season has gone pretty well.”
In continuing this narrative, Oremus emphasized the strength of the women’s squad moving forward.
“I’m happy with where the team is, and I’m very excited to see how we finish the A-10,” Oremus said. “I think that we’re stronger than we ever have been before. I think our top four are very solid. We definitely need that fifth to come in clutch at the championships, which I think they will.”
The men and women also competed in the Leopard Invitational at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. on Oct. 14. The men won the race, finishing first in a field of four teams, while the women were third in a field of four. For the men, sophomore Collin Gallagher placed first overall in a field of 76. Senior Andrew Myers finished second, and junior Will Sponaugle finished third.
For the women, sophomore Rose Barrett finished 14th in a field of 47. Freshman Kayla Martin finished 28th, while freshman Morgan Patten finished 29th.
