November 18, 2017 – Division III National Championships!

The 2017 Cross Country Season has officially come to a close with the National Championship meet this past Saturday! After months of pouring blood, sweat and tears into their training, the team reaped the rewards as they competed against 31 of the nation’s best teams in Elsah, Illinois. As has been our usual fashion this year, the Ephs persevered against all challenges thrown their way (25 mph winds and a 25-degree temperature drop in the span of 2 hours) to perform well when it mattered most.

The women’s team earned 8^th place, outperforming their 9^th place USTFCCCA rank and maintaining their 6+ year streak of placing top 10 at NCAA’s. Both Victoria Kingham and Audrey Rustad garnered All-America honors, finishing 24^th and 37^th respectively. The men’s team snagged 13^th place, 9 spots ahead of their pre-race ranking. The finish was a nice cap on their continuous race-to-race improvement throughout championship season.

Thank you to all of our athletes who have tirelessly committed themselves to their seasons, helping to uphold all that is Williams Cross Country. Also, thank you to everyone who has supported us every step of every mile. Until next year…Go Ephs!

November 11, 2017 – New England Regional Championship!

The NCAA Division III New England Championship took place at Gorham Country Club, hosted by the University of Southern Maine. 55 men’s teams and 56 women’s teams participated, totaling 763 runners across the board. Though winds were a bit gusty and temperatures were a bit chilly, our squads didn’t let the weather affect them and produced solid performances in both the individual and the team scoring. Their efforts paid off, with both genders earning at-large bids to the NCAA Division III Championship next weekend!

The Lady Ephs raced first, taking 3rd overall behind MIT and Tufts with 4 of our 7 competitors earning All-Region honors. On the men’s side, the team placed 4th overall, just 13 points shy of 3rd place Middlebury, also with 4 All-Region honors.

With the good news of receiving at-large bids, everyone is looking forward to next weekend with positive mindsets, excited about and thankful for the opportunity to try to put all the pieces together at the Big Dance.

November 5, 2017 – USATF New England Championships!

The USATF New England Championships brought a unique opportunity for our athletes to compete against post-collegiate runners! 29 Ephs, both men and women, made the trek to Franklin Park in Boston, where blue skies and temperatures in the upper 50s made for an ideal race conditions.

Eliza Matt, senior, led the way for our women’s squad, covering the course in 23:19 for 37th place! Close behind her were junior Tyra Wynn and freshman Brianna Bourne and scoring 38th and 45th, respectively. Janelle Gowgiel (sophomore) and Jaylan Fraser-Mines (freshman) rounded our top 5.

As for the men, William McGovern, sophomore, was the men’s leader, placing 33rd and running 32:54 for the only cross country 10k race of the season. Kenny Marshall (44th), Jake Kahrs (51st), Sam Gilman (56th) and Chris Avila (64th) were our 2-5th runners, each of whom ran just over or below the 34-minute mark.

The group’s energy was positive from start to finish as the race brought many of our competitors’ seasons to a close. We are proud of all of our Ephs & their performances, and we’re looking forward to this upcoming weekend’s Regional competition at the University of Southern Maine!

October 28, 2017 – NESCAC Championships!

This year’s NESCAC Championship took place on Bates’ home course, Pineland Farms. Full of rolling hills and wide dirt paths, the course is challenging and keeps runners on their toes as they wind through the woods. One of the more competitive conferences in the area, the NESCAC provides excellent competition, against which our teams went up against under blue skies this past Saturday.

Our women’s and men’s teams finished 1st and 5th respectively, with outstanding performances on both sides. For the men, Ryan Cox had a fantastic race, placing 15th and coming in second for the team. On the women’s side, Stella Worters, Emily Sundquist and Emily Harris all had great days for the Ephs, stepping up on the day. We’re proud of all of our runners who competed, as well as our alternates, who have continued to train hard and push one another along.

This upcoming weekend we’re excited to be shipping up (over) to Boston to have a group compete in the USATF New England meet at Franklin Park on Sunday morning!

October 21, 2017 – Plansky Alumni Race!

The Purple Valley welcomed back alumni of all ages this weekend in honor of our annual alumni event! Ephs young and old, past and present, came together on a beautiful Saturday morning to compete against one another, a large group of our current athletes, a small group of Williams’ Nordic Skiers and four other college cross country teams. There were approximately 150 participants who took part in the co-ed 5000m race, while many others lined the course and cheered everyone on. After the completion of the race, there was a wonderful picnic at which people were able to reunite and catch up with old teammates, coaches and friends.

We’d like to take this opportunity to send a heartfelt thank you to Pete’s wife, Yumi, for making this picnic (and all other home meet meals) possible with all of her hard work! We’d also like to thank everyone who made the trip out to Williamstown this weekend; we appreciate your continued support and were glad to have you back!

October 14, 2017 – Little Three Championships!

This past weekend our team took part in, and had the privilege of hosting, a longstanding tradition – the Little Three Championships! The race brought together three rivals (ourselves, Amherst and Wesleyan) in some friendly (…but not too friendly) competition on the trails of Mount Greylock High school.

The women won their competition, going 2-3-4-5-6, with some excellent, competitive efforts from top to bottom. The men placed second in their race, with 12 of our men comprising the majority of the top 20 overall competitors.

Parents and supporters of the team came out to line the course and cheer us on in our endeavors, which we really appreciate! It was great to see everyone come together and enjoy one another’s company at our post-meet picnic. Next week will bring another opportunity for reunion as we’ll have some alumni coming in to compete with us at the Plansky Invitational!

 

October 8-10, 2017 – E(ph) for Effort: Community Service Projects!

The long holiday weekend brought around a perfect opportunity for our team to give back to the community and be a part of various service projects throughout Williamstown!

On Sunday we had a group of team members participating in our adopt-a-highway cleanup crew on Route 43. Donned in the brightest of safety vests, some of our Ephs braved the rainy day to help to clear out trash from the roadsides. Monday offered up two different projects, one at the Peace Valley Farm and the other at the Berkshire Food Project, both of which provided assistance to organizations that provide food to members of our community on a daily basis. The skies cleared up on Tuesday, allowing a group to help the Rural Lands organization to rebuild some trails, dig out a river and transport small-ish boulders around, all in an effort to better and preserve Williamstown trail systems.

Thank you to all of our team members who put forth their time, energy & service – Go Ephs!!

October 7, 2017 – Westfield’s James Early Invite!

Williams stayed in-state this weekend to compete at the James Early Invitational which, for the first time, was split into multiple races to account for increasing numbers of entries. Both the men and women had participants in each of the four races, with the men covering 8km of fields and trails and the women running 5km.

The men kicked off the day with a team and individual win in the Blue race, with Kevin LaFleche taking the victory and leading 6 men in the top 10. The White race brought a 2nd place finish as a team, with Tristan Colaizzi making his season debut and finishing first for the team, helping to put 5 in the top 25.

The women’s races followed, with our Lady Ephs putting up a 7th place finish in the White race and a 9th place finish in the Blue race. Freshman Brianna Bourne led the way for the women in the White race, placing 7th, while Adrienne Banks did the same in the Blue race, notching 26th overall.

Everyone was proud of the efforts put forth, and we are looking forward to next weekend when we can get all of our team members out on the same starting line at the Little Three Championship!

September 29, 2017 – Paul Short Invitational!

Friday morning brought perfect conditions for the Ephs to toe the line in Bethlehem, PA on one of the quickest courses that they’ll run on all season. Amongst teams from all over the country, our athletes faced stiff competition but put out a strong showing for our program.

The men in the Open Race kicked off our day with some really positive energy, posting a 58-second spread between our 1st and 10th runners! Nick Gannon, sophomore, had a huge PR of a minute and a half, finishing first for the team and leading the way for various other PR’s and 8k debuts. The women’s Open Race had senior Emily Sundquist continuing her cross-country comeback campaign as the first team finisher, leading a minute and four-second spread between our 6 competitors, who also had some personal bests and debuts as well!

Our Gold Race male competitors finished with a 32-second spread from top to bottom, led by freshman Aidan Ryan who completed the 8k distance for the first time in his career. The men packed up well to navigate the quick-moving field studded with nationally-ranked Division 1 programs. Our women’s Gold Race counterparts were led by Victoria Kingham with her massive 42-second PR and followed up by 6 other women who fought hard throughout the duration of their 6000-meters, working together to push each other along.

Next weekend brings a shorter road trip to Westfield, where those who did not compete at Paul Short will put their training to the test!

 

September 23, 2017 – Purple Valley Classic!

In the midst of the continuous late-September heat wave we’ve been experiencing, the Williams XC squad hosted our biggest PVC meet to date this past weekend. With 29 teams in attendance, it was a great opportunity to mix it up with some new and different competition.

There were Williams runners in each of the 3 races (5k, 6k and 8k), with solid performances all around! Up against some of the top Division III competition in the nation, our men’s team placed 5th in the 8k and our women’s team placed 4th in the 6k. As for the Co-Ed 5k, the Ephs were able to place 11 men in the overall Top 15 of the race and 7 women in the Top 10 of female competitors.

Up next is the Paul Short Invite at which we will compete against some of the country’s top programs across all three NCAA Divisions.

September 16, 2017 – McGill Invitational!

This past weekend we had the opportunity to travel up to the Great White North in the name of our season’s debut race at McGill University. As the only American team in the race, it was a great chance to mix things up internationally and get the competition officially underway!

The women’s team claimed second place, led by senior duo Anna Harleen and Victoria Kingham. Assisted by a standout performance by Audrey Rustad, the Lady Ephs put 8 in the top 30 competitors! The men’s team walked away with a clear 25-point win, putting 8 men in the top 20. Senior Liam Simpson led the charge and was followed closely by freshman Aidan Ryan, junior Austin Anderson and senior Ben Decker. Despite some unusually hot temperatures, each of the teams showed great promise and camaraderie, with various packs working together throughout the duration of the race.

After the race the team was able to explore Montreal a bit, trying different restaurants and enjoying some time along the river. It was a marvelous experience all around and a great lead up to the Purple Valley Classic this upcoming weekend!

September 9, 2017 – CoEd Relays!

Saturday morning brought miles of smiles, and a good amount of sweat, as the team gathered up for their annual CoEd Relays event! Donned in coordinating costumes, 31 different teams of 2-4 members took to the newly modified course at Mount Greylock to compete against (and champion for) one another. Spirits were high and the energy was pumping as everyone put out some great effort and got the ball rolling for the 2017 season! Glad to keep up the notorious tradition, and can’t wait to keep things going next weekend up in Montreal!

August 29, 2017 – Welcome Home!

Though the sun may be hiding behind a blanket of clouds today, the presence of student-athletes returning to campus is sure to brighten up the atmosphere here in the Purple Valley. Welcome home everyone! The coaching staff is amped up to get the ball rolling and set the year into motion. Stay tuned for the happenings of our team and highlights of the season!!