On Nov. 2, both Men’s and Women’s Cross Country competed on their home course at the NESCAC Championship meet held at Harkness Memorial Park.
Earning first place was Conn’s own Michael LeDuc ’14. LeDuc, a co-captain of the men’s team, ran a time of 24:35.2 on the 8k course, breaking the course record by 18 seconds. LeDuc’s win helped the men finish in 8th place, ahead of Hamilton, Wesleyan and Trinity. Williams College placed first in the meet overall.
LeDuc is the first Conn runner to win an individual title at a NESCAC Championship. He was named the NESCAC Men’s Cross Country most outstanding performer.
“As a team we approach every meet expecting an honest effort from each athlete…We expect the best from each of our teammates. I held myself to the standard that my teammates and I set, which happened to end up well,” said LeDuc.
Jim Butler, the head coach of the men’s team, was pleased with Mike’s performance: “It was a great test for future races,” said Butler. “Mike was in control of the race right from the gun. He knew what he was doing.”
Placing first in the women’s race was Kaleigh Kenny of Williams College, who ran 21:20 on the 6k course, tying the course record.
The Conn Women’s team placed 7th overall, beating Amherst, Bowdoin, Wesleyan, and Trinity. Helping the team secure this sport was Kelsey McGinnis ’17, who placed 14th in the meet with a time of 22:12, earning herself a spot on the All-NESCAC Women’s Cross Country Team.
“The energy at Harkness was unbelievable and the greatest part of competing was having the support of friends, family and teammates along the course,” said McGinnis. “I was so proud of the girls on my team for all of their hard work that ultimately showed in a solid team finish.”
Ned Bishop, head coach of the women’s team, was extremely pleased with the result of the meet: “I am very happy with the way we ran and the goals that were met. Everyone on our should feel proud of the performance we turned in on Saturday. They have trained really hard and raced very well all season, and their confidence has grown as we have made this progress,” said Bishop.
According to Butler, the NESCAC is “loaded” this year. “Six of the [men’s] teams are nationally ranked,” said Butler. “The guys ran really hard.”
Members of the girls team were also happy with their performance: “We had raced against Colby about six weeks earlier and it had been relatively close, and since that time Colby had beaten Amherst in a very tight race. Both were ranked ahead of us, and they were the two teams we were most focused on catching,” said McGinnis. The women’s team beat Amherst by four points and was behind Colby by just five.
Patrick Dermody ’15 placed 35th in the meet with a time of 25:48, the second fastest time in the meet for a Conn athlete, after LeDuc.
“My goal was to get a spot in the top 14 in the race, which would have given me all-NESCAC honors. I did not achieve that goal, but I still feel like I gave my best effort,” said Dermody.
In terms of the team’s performance overall, Dermody said, “We did very well, but I know that we can do even better at the New England meet in Southern Maine. We still have a shot at qualifying for Nationals, which we will do if we run our very best at Southern Maine.”
When asked about his individual performance at the meet ,Ben Bosworth ’17, who placed 4th overall with a time of 26:13, said, “Individually, I didn’t run as well as I hoped. I didn’t run my best time on the course, but it’s good motivation for regionals.” He said that many of his teammates had “the same sentiment.”
One team member who had an impressive race was Billy Barnes ’15. “Barnes came out of nowhere. He crushed it,” said Blake Reilly ’14. Barnes placed 57th overall in the meet with a time of 26.32.
Many members of the team cited Brad DeMarco’s ’16 performance as an important factor in the meet. DeMarco placed 60th overall with a time of 26:47.
“Brad moving up to 5th man [on the team] is a big boost, that was much needed. Brad has assured me he will do that in two weeks [at regionals],” said Butler.
“I’ve been consistently progressing throughout the season,” said DeMarco, who was dealing with some injuries earlier this year. “It’s been my goal to make the top seven for Conn all year, and it’s just been constantly knocking off time as I went. So far I’ve gotten about a minute faster every single race, so hopefully I can continue that at the regional meet and help get our team to Nationals.”
The rest of the team also looks towards regionals, the New England Division III Championship at the University of Southern Maine on Nov. 16. Placing well at this meet means the men’s team could go to Nationals. “We want to surprise a few teams and get to the National Championship. That would require us to have our perfect race on the 16th and place as one of the top 6(ish) teams. I have always loved exceeding people’s expectations and we are poised to do so in a few weeks,” said LeDuc.
The girls are also hoping to place well at the next few championship meets, especially at New England’s. “There are several teams we’ve been very close to this fall, some of which we have beaten and some we have not. It will be a good challenge, and I have great confidence in our team,” said Bishop. •
