The USM men’s and women’s cross county teams hosted the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championships, Sat. Nov. 15 in Cumberland. It was not an ideal day to wear shorts and tank-tops but the blustery conditions did little to deter the close to five hundred runners from more than 70 schools across New England that traveled to Twins Brooks Recreation Center to compete for the New England Division III crown.
The USM women, coming off a bye week and a strong performance in the Alliance Championships, struggled a bit and finished 26th out of 35 teams. First-year Stephanie Westcott (Chester, VT.) was USM’s top finisher in 94th place. Sophomore Andrea York (Friendship, ME) finished in 128th place, Senior Lauren Lohmeyer (Portland, ME) took 147 place, first-year Andrea Newton, finished in 171st place, and Kristy Wechter (South Berwick, ME) took 183rd to round out USM’s top five.
Women’s coach George Towle, who served as the race director, said the conditions were difficult for all runners. “It could have been worse,” Towle said, “It’s been worse all week. The Cumberland Recreation Department did a great job. The course was safe, and fair.” Towle added that there were a few muddy patches on the course, and a few spots where puddles had frozen. “A few days ago you couldn’t have run the course. We brought in a lot of woods chip, and the Rec. Department really did an extraordinary amount of work.”
The women’s race featured four of the nation’s top five teams. Middlebury College, the nation’s top ranked team, placed its top three runners in the top ten and two more in the top twenty, to take the championship with 51 points. Williams College (ranked 4th in the nation entering the race) placed second, Amherst College (2nd) was third and Trinity College (5th) took fourth. In a surprise finish, Bowdoin College had its best race of the season and took fifth place, rounding out the field of five teams headed to Indiana for the NCAA championship this Saturday.
The men’s race was also a tightly contested race with 38 teams vying for a trip to Nationals. USM competed well finishing 18th out 38 teams, led by a strong performance from junior Michael Bunker. Bunker (Bucksport, ME) took 71st place and was followed closely by first year Chris Hopkins (North Blackfield, MA) in 83rd place. Emery Bickford (Benton, ME), Clayton Conrad (North Yarmouth, ME), and Kyle Smith (East Hampstead, NH) rounded out the top five for the huskies.
Tufts University, the nation’s 9th ranked team, placed its top five runners in the first 26 finishers, and took the New England title with 74 points. Keene State, Williams, and Amherst also earned trips to Nationals.
Craig Giammona can be contacted at [email protected]