2011 Season

2011 Season

November 19 Williams Women Third, Del Piccolo Champion at Nationals; Men Sixth

The event that the Williams cross-country teams have been training for all season has finally arrived: the Division III National Championship! The women’s team reached the podium with their third place finish, and the men placed sixth, just one point out of fifth.  These performances mirrored the most recent national poll that had Williams ranked 3rd and 5th going into the meet.

Chiara Del Piccolo ’14 continued her strong surge in the second half of the season and added another accolade to her collection: national champion! Del Piccolo bided her time until the prime opportunity to make the decisive move with 800 meters to go. Joining her in earning All-American honors was Alison Smith ’15 in thirty-third place. Following her was Olivia Delia ’12 in forty-third, moving up well from 119th place at the one mile mark, and then Celeste Berg ’13 in seventy-fifth and Shayna Barbash ’14 in seventy-ninth, rounding out the scoring. Lauren Goldstein-Kral ’12 in eighty-ninth and Anna Spiers ’15 in 110th comprised the rest of the top seven.

With the win, Del Piccolo earned National Runner of the Year. She is also the second Eph to ever win the national title and first since Jessica Caley in 1995. In total, the team scored 153 points behind Washington University with 70 points and Middlebury College with 111.

Similar to the regional championship, it was vital for the teams to get a fast start on another flat course. The men nearly ran this plan to perfection, as they positioned themselves at the front of the main pack and led the team standings after the first mile. The team was led by Chris Lee ’14 who worked his way into All-American position over the 4th mile but ultimately finished in fifty-first overall. Coming in after Lee was the pack of  Colin Cotton ’15 in seventy-third, Josephat Koima ’12 in seventy-fifth, and Wade Davis ’13 in seventy-sixth. Anthony Raduazo ’12 completed the top five scoring for the men with his ninety-seventh place finish. Jack Fitzhenry ’12 and Mark Springel finished 129th and 193rd, respectively. The team managed a sixth place finish, just one point behind host UW-Oshkosh in fifth. The team’s spread of 18 seconds between the #1 and #5 man was the smallest by far, and Raduazo was the second “fifth” runner to finish the race after his counterpart on national champion North Central College.

With the season over, many members of the team will rest up before resuming training for indoor track.

November 12 – Williams Men Take New England Crown; Women Second, led by Del Piccolo

Williams Cross Country asserted itself as the dominant force in New England at the Division III New England Regional Championship hosted by Bowdoin College.  The men’s team claimed the title after a brief usurpation last year, while the women’s team stormed their way to second.

As with the Little Three and NESCAC Championship before, Chiara Del Piccolo ’14 crossed the finish line without peer in view in a time of 20:52, finishing nearly fifteen seconds ahead of runner-up Randelle Boots ’13 of Wellesley College.   Next to cross the line for the Ephs was Olivia Delia ’12 in ninth overall, followed by Shayna Barbash ’14 in thirteenth.  Leading a stream of Ephs was Anna Spiers ’15 in eighteenth, closely followed by Alison Smith ’15, Celeste Berg ’13, and Lauren Goldstein-Kral ’12 in nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-ninth place, respectively.  This resulted in a team score of 60 points, a scant five points behind champion Middlebury with 55 points. With the win, Del Piccolo was named New England Runner of the Year.  Additionally, all seven Ephs earned All-Region honors with their top-35 place finishes.

With the large field and immediate bottleneck, it was imperative for both teams to get out fast, perhaps more so for the men.  Leading the way for the men was a standout performance by Chris Lee ’14, finishing seventh overall, completing the race in 25:01.  Close behind him was Colin Cotton ’15, barreling through the finish in tenth overall, top first-year in the race.  After him was a pack of Jack Fitzhenry ’12, Wade Davis ’13, and Josephat Koima ’12 in twenty-second, twenty-third, and twenty-sixth respectively, and then Anthony Raduazo ’12 in fortieth and Brandon Abasolo ’13 in fiftieth.  The team prevailed by one point over Middlebury, 88 points to 89.  Lee, Cotton, Fitzhenry, Davis, and Koima all earned All-Region honors.

With their finishes at the regional meet, both teams garnered automatic berths to the Division III National Championship hosted by UW-Oshkosh on November 19th.

November 5  Williams Men Win Seventh Straight ECAC Title, Women Second

October 29 – Williams Sweeps Again, Claims Both NESCAC Titles

This weekend, the Northeast was subject to two displays of raw, awesome power: a late October snowstorm that left more than three million customers without power and the performances of the Williams cross-country teams at the NESCAC Championship hosted by Amherst College.  Both the men’s and women’s teams conquered the cold and muddy conditions to capture their respective team titles.

Chiara Del Piccolo ’14 claimed the overall individual victory in the women’s 6 km race in a course record time of 21:58, 29 seconds ahead of runner-up Keri Lambert ’13 of Amherst.  Following Del Piccolo for the Ephs with a great kick was Olivia Delia ’12 in fifth place in 22:58, then Anna Spiers ’15 seventh in 23:05, and Shayna Barbash ’14 eighth in 23:06. Rounding out the top seven on the women’s side were Celeste Berg ’13 with an inspiring thirteenth place finish, Lauren Goldstein-Kral ’12, racing through illness, in fifteenth place, and Alison Smith ’15 in seventeenth.  Once all was said and done, the women scored 34 points, besting former number one-ranked team in the country Middlebury with 42 points.  This was the Ephs first outright NESCAC title since 2005.  Additionally, Del Piccolo garnered NESCAC Outstanding Performer of the Week and Spiers NESCAC Rookie of the Year awards.  Del Piccolo, Delia, Spiers, Barbash, and Berg all received All-NESCAC honors with their top fourteen place finishes.

The men’s team used a similar packing strategy employed at the Little Three Championship, with Captain Anthony Raduazo ’12 leading the way with his sixth place finish in 26:24. Not far behind him were Wade Davis ’13 eighth in 26:27, Chris Lee ’14 tenth in 26:28, Colin Cotton ’15 eleventh in 26:29. Filling out the top seven were Josephat Koima ’12 fourteenth, Jack Fitzhenry ’12 fifteenth, and Brandon Abasolo ’13 twenty-eighth.  Similar to the women’s team, the men had five members earn All-NESCAC honors by placing in the top fourteen: Raduazo, Davis, Lee, Cotton, and Koima, as well as the NESCAC Rookie of the Year award bestowed upon Cotton.  This was a spectacular race in particular for Lee after having been sidelined from competing for the past year due to injury. The men posted a score of 49 points, besting tied-for-second Bates and Bowdoin who had 79 points, a slight redemption after being upset by Middlebury last year for the team title.

Members of both teams will compete at the Doc Seeley Invitational at the Mt. Greylock Regional High School on Wednesday, November 2nd, and then will send their “second sevens” to compete at the ECAC Championship also at Mt. Greylock on Saturday, November 5th.

October 25 – Alison Smith ’15 Highlighted by NCAA as one of “best first-year collegiate performers in the country” – Article

October 17 – Chiara Del Piccolo ’14 Named NESCAC Women’s Performer of the Week – Article

October 15 – Williams Sweeps Little Three Championship

Williams College hosted the Little Three Championship today at Mt. Greylock Regional HS.  The men’s team romped Amherst and Wesleyan on the way to its twenty-fourth consecutive title, while the women’s team performed in similar fashion and captured its fourth consecutive title.

Leading the way for the Ephs on the men’s side was Josephat Koima ’12, besting the field after taking over the lead slightly after three miles and crossing the line first in 26:20.  Following him and rounding out the top five for Williams were Captain Anthony Raduazo ’12 in third in a time of 26:36, Wade Davis ’13 fourth in 26:38, Brandon Abasolo ’13 fifth in 26:44, and Jack Fitzhenry ’12 sixth in 26:46.  Scott Rodilitz ’13 and first-year standout Colin Cotton ’15 completed the top seven with their seventh and ninth place finishes.  The team employed a packing strategy to near-perfection to attain victory, as evidenced by their tight finishes and the team’s low score.  On the day, the men scored 19 points, handily defeating Wesleyan (57 points) and Amherst (62 points).

For the women, Chiara Del Piccolo ’14 employed a fantastic kick to claim the individual title in 18:25.  She was followed by Shayna Barbash ’14 in third with a time of 19:05, Leslie Blackshear ’14 fourth in 19:07, Alison Smith ’15 fifth in 19:16, and Lauren Goldstein-Kral ’12 seventh in 19:25 competing in her first cross-country race since returning from the world and national triathlon championships.  Anna Spiers ’15 and Olivia Delia ’12 comprised the rest of the top Williams’ top seven in finishing eighth and ninth.  Similarly to the men, the women’s team effectively employed a packing strategy to attain victory on a day where individual placing and not finishing time is key.  Overall, the women scored 20 points easily besting Amherst (44 points) and Wesleyan (78 points).

Both teams will return to the Mt. Greylock course for the Aluminum Bowl this Saturday, where past and present Eph will compete, before retooling for the NESCAC Championship at Amherst the following week on October 29th.