Men’s Cross Country at Williams
Williams has achieved cross country success since the team’s inception in 1912. Early triumphs under Coach Charles ‘Doc’ Seeley (1912-1934) included New England titles in 1916 and 1924. Hal Brown ’20 was New England Champion and went on to capture the Gold Medal in the 3,000 meter team race at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. Tony Plansky, two-time national decathlon champion, was head coach for 44 of his 48 years at Williams (1931-78). His last nine teams of the ’70s compiled an 87-19-1 dual meet record including undefeated seasons in 1970, 1975, and 1977. Pete Farwell took the helm in 1979, and the Ephs compiled a 34-meet win streak with undefeated years 1979 and 1980. Since 1970 Williams has won the traditional Little Three rivalry with Amherst and Wesleyan 41 of 43 years!
Williams cross country rose to the top of New England in 1992 with convincing victories in the 11-team NESCAC conference and the New England Division III Championship. That year Seth McClennen ’93, freshman Marzuki Stevens ’96, and Chad Kurtz ’94 qualified for the NCAAs. 1993-1998 saw repeats of those regional victories, which secured a team berth for the NCAAs. The 1993 Ephs placed fourth at nationals to capture a coveted team trophy, in the first year that NESCAC allowed teams to advance. Jeremie Perry ’96 led the charge in a 9th place All-American finish. Perry returned in 1994 to conquer the field, emerging as individual national champion with a speedy 24:41 clocking on a challenging 8k course. The Ephs packed in three more All-Americans (Stevens 7th, Tim Billo ’97 22nd, and Creaghan Trainor ’96 29th) with Greg Crowther ’95 wrapping up the team score of 98 to edge perennial champ North Central (Illinois)’s 110. Those top five Williams runners also won NESCAC and the 32-team Albany Invitational (Yale in 2nd). Perry was named 1994 Runner of the Year by the U.S. Track Coaches Association.
1995 found the Ephs taking 3rd in the All New Englands (behind only Providence and Dartmouth), winning the Dartmouth Invite, and repeating as NCAA Champs! At the Nationals Stevens (4th), Perry (7th), Billo (13th) and Long (26th) kicked in for All American finishes, and freshman Paul Alsdorf’s 52nd clinched the 83-91 margin over North Central once again. 1996′s three All Americans led the team to the conference title and 5th at NCAA’s: Alsdorf 10th, Billo 18th, and Matt Buck 23rd. 1997 and 1998 squads ran the streak of conference titles to 5 and regional crowns to 7. In 1998 Alsdorf challenged for the national win, finishing runner-up, while Dan McCue ’99 out-kicked 9 runners to place 7th for the best 1-2 punch in Williams harrier history as the team again gained the podium with its 3rd place finish. The 2000 squad featured three All-Americans – Dusty Lopez ’01 24th, Tim Campbell ’01 31st, and Andy Golden ’03 33rd – who led the team to a NESCAC Championship and a 5th place team finish at Nationals.
The 2002 squad peaked in the championship season, copping 2nd in the NESCAC conference, 3rd in the New England III region, and finally exceeding all expectations with a remarkable 7th place finish (top New England team) at the NCAA championship. Karl Remsen ’03 led the squad all year, ran 24:41, and earned All-American honors (14th place). Neal Holtschulte ’06 surprised everyone with his 22nd place, top first year finisher in the nation! Neal went on to be the top class finisher in the nation each year of his career, taking consecutively 6th, 2nd, and finally 1st (National Champ!) in 2003-2004-2005, to become the first Williams male 4-time cross country All American. He led the team to another 7th and a 6th place at nationals, backed up by Stephen Wills ’07 (30th place All-American in 2005). The 2005 squad showcased team depth by winning the ECAC Championship for the first time with the ‘Second Seven’, and the 2006 group repeated that victory as the top 7 won the NESCAC title for the first time since 2000, and the New England III region for the first time since 1998. That team garnered a national 7th place finish led by Wills, Brendan Christian ’09, Mike Davitian ’07, and Corey Levin ’08 packing in within 20 seconds of each other. The 2007 team had a splendid year winning ECAC and NESCAC titles, and Edgar Kosgey ’10 won the NCAA regional before placing 36th at Nationals as the Ephs placed 10th (top New England team). It was a clean sweep in 2008: the Ephs won 4 titles in dominant fashion on successive weekends (Little 3, NESCAC, ECAC and New England Regional) before peaking to a podium climbing 3rd place NCAA finish with Kosgey10th and Jeff Perlis ’10 26th as All-Americans, backed by Macklin Chaffee ’09, Christian, and Corey Watts ’10 in 37th, 44th, and 76th. 2009 achieved the same titles as Kosgey won his 3rd consecutive regional title, the first ever male New England III runner to do so. Finally they pulled out a gutsy 2nd place in the NCAA with Kosgey 3rd, a pack of Josephat Koima ’12, Connor Kamm ’10 and Watts in 36th, 45th, and 47th and a flying finish by usual seventh man Mark Springel ’12 clinching the runner-up trophy.
2010’s highlights were Little Three and ECAC victories: the former led by Koima in 2nd, Wade Davis ’13 6th, and Anthony Raduazo ’12 7th, and the latter spearheaded by Jack Fitzhenry ’12 in 5th. Koima went on to be runner-up in the New England regional, too. In 2011 he was Little Three individual champ as his teammates took 3rd through 7th to total a low winning score of 19. The ‘Second Seven’ team won its 7th straight ECAC title with a 3-4-5 finish by Springel, Ford Smith ’12, and Scott Rodilitz ’13. The Varsity then re-captured the New England region title and went on to an excellent 6th place NCAA finish, with Chris Lee ’14 top finisher in 51st. In 2012 Williams won its 25th consecutive Little Three title, and raced fast in all championships with a final placing of 12th in the NCAA Championship, as Lee became Williams’ 20th All-American in 18th place. In 2013, the team moved up, winning the Little Three, NESCAC, ECAC, and New England Regional Championships. They capped the season with a 5th place at the NCAA Division III National Championship, led by All-American Colin Cotton (22nd place).
The 2014 squad returns a number of veterans along with a fine crop of first years. We expect strong showings at the Conference, Regional and National Championships!