Brewers race to regional meet

Stacey Mack Staff Writer

Vassar’s prime cross country athletes are preparing for the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships, which are to be held this weekend at Rochester. The Regional competition is the qualifying meet for NCAA Division III Nationals and Vassar will be competing against every Division III school in New York and New Jersey. Coming out of outstanding performances last weekend, the men’s and women’s teams both stand to shock rivals and set some amazing times.

The Brewers performed strongly at the ECAC Cross Country Championships held this past weekend.

The men’s team came close to matching their best ever third place finish from last year, despite the loss of injured captain Sam Dratch ’06 and NCAA All-Regional runners Avi Kramer ’05 and Schyler Schuster ’05. Vassar’s seven-man team competed in a race that had “some of the very best runners in the region," according to coach James McCowan.

To achieve fourth place out of 38 teams, the Brewers really gave it their all. Season best performances were seen by Colin Sanders ’08, Eric Langhans ’08 and Jamie Anderson ’08, while a personal-best run was performed by John Alaimo ’09. Missing All-ECAC honors by two places, Anthony Lucero ’09 set a school record run of 26:20.

The women’s team also finished admirably at the ECAC Cross Country Championships in tenth place among tight competition. At the prestigious ECAC Championships, a realm in which the athletic field grows stronger with every year, the Brewers finished with six out of a possible seven season-best performances. Just five positions away from All-ECAC honors, Laura Coogan ’09 led the charge with her personal best run of 23:26, placing twentieth in a tough field. In close pursuit of her were Christine Schleppegrell ’08 and captains Nilly Buchsabum ’06, Diana Best ’07 and Elizabeth Hixson ’06. Two other Vassar runners who performed extremely well in the ECAC Championships, finishing seventy-eighth and eightieth, respectively, were Leigh McCallen ’07 and Olivia Rush ’08. After the competition, head Coach James McCowan said that the “team is really coming together and performing exceptionally well in these final weeks."

At the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships, the Brewers look to improve their excellent times even more. Joining the women’s team next week is a rested Caroline Goodman ’07, and Amy Dowley ’08 who will also step in also to help the team to a strong regional finish. On the men’s side, rested Zach Lampron ’08 and TJ Fayton ’09 are prepared to perform to their fullest.