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 38 of 40 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. 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. That top five 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 Kosgey 10th 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 Jospehat 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!

 Women’s Cross Country at Williams

The women’s team has likewise become a force in New England and the nation. In the past 20 years they have won the New England Division III Championships 8 times and finished runner-up 6 more. The team has qualified 17 consecutive years for the NCAA Championship, recording 9 top-5 finishes. The program was initiated in 1976 with Bud Fisher as head coach and sent its first NCAA qualifiers in 1981: All-Americans Sue Marchant (14th) and Liz Martineau (22nd) led the way. Fisher coached 1976-77 and 1980-86 seasons, with Doug Armstrong filling in during 1978 and 1979. Larry Bell coached 1987-1990, Rob Colantuono 1991-1992, Monica Egbuonu 1993-1995, and Kristen Morwick 1996-1999. In 1990 five individual Ephs qualified for the NCAA, and then created a team score at nationals good enough for 3rd: Rebecca Adams ’93 12th, Cherie Macauley ’92 20th, Anne Bokman ’91 23rd, Anne Platt ’91 27th and Lindley Hall ’93 64th. In 1995, sophomore Jessica Caley bested the entire field at Nationals to become Division III NCAA Individual Champion. She also won the All New England title that season. In 2000, under the direction of Pete Farwell for the first time, the women enjoyed one of their bests season in history, culminating with a 2nd place finish at the Division III NCAA Championships: Joey Shapiro ’01 led the way with a 3rd place finish overall, with Courtney Bennigson ’01 and current co-captain Julia Bensen ’03 also earning All-American honors. The team followed that up with another runner-up finish at NCAAs in 2001, led by All-Americans Jenn Campbell ’05 (3rd ) and Bensen (6th).

2002 found the Ephwomen on top of nearly every meet, sweeping 3 Invitationals, the NESCAC conference, ECAC, New England III region, and finally NCAA national titles! Co-Captain Bensen was joined up front again by Campbell and first-years Caroline Cretti and Michelle Rorke. With much improved Katie Marsh ’05 as 5th runner, the team racked up 5 All-American slots (11-7-5-6-33 respectively). Cretti was the top First Year at nationals, and was named conference and region athlete of the year for her wins at those meets. Bensen became Williams’ first ever female 3-time x-country All-American. The 2004 squad had a superior final race to wrest the NCAA title away from Middlebury by a 110-129 margin, as Campbell and Cretti went 3-4 for the Ephs. Campbell completed her xc career with 4 All-American placings, the first Williams harrier, male or female, to accomplish that feat. The ‘Second Seven’ won the ECAC title for the 3rd consecutive year. Cretti capped her astounding career in 2005 with her 4th New England regional individual title, and a 6th place NCAA finish to a lead the team to a runner-up NCAA finish after a convincing New England title. Also garnering All-American status were Rorke (14th), Liz Gleason ’08 (12th) and Mallory Harlin (28th). Rachel Asher ’09 led the 2006 team to 3rd in conference and region, and then 8th at Nationals, as she placed 31st  and All-American. 2008 found the Ephs once again climbing the podium at Nationals led by Lauren Philbrook ’09 All-American in 19th place with a tight three-pack of Robin Kuntz ’09, Meghan Shea ’11 and Bret Scofield ’10 in  68-73-79   respectively, putting the team in 3rd place!

2009 was another successful year for the lady Ephs, taking 2nd in conference, 3rd in the region, and 8th at nationals. Top finisher was Jennifer Gossels ’13 in 49th with Olga Kondratjeva ’10 and Elly Teitsworth ’10 close on her heels in 57th and 82nd.

In 2010 Gossels led the way with victories in the NESCAC (backed up by Annie Dear ’13 in 4th) and regionals (as Lauren Goldstein-Kral ’12 was 10th) while the team placed 2nd in each, and then went on to a runner-up national finish as the team packed in to place 5th.

2011 found Chiara Del Piccolo at the head of the pack winning NESCAC, Regional, and finally National individual titles. The team won NESCAC with Olivia Delia ’11 in 5th and Anna Spiers in 7th, and capped off the season by earning a 3rd place team trophy at the NCAA’s as Alison Smith ’15 was Williams’ second finisher in All-American 33rd place position. 2012’s edition of the Lady Eph harriers took their fifth consecutive Little Three title led by Smith in 2nd. The team again won NESCAC as Kaleigh Kenny ’14, Brianne Mirecki ’14, and Adrienne Strait ’15 swept 3rd, 4th, and 5th places. Kenny and Strait went 3-4 at the regionals, leading the team to a runner-up finish and automatic qualifier to Nationals. At that final championship they each earned All-American honors, in 16th and 28th places. There are now 25 different Williams women who have become Cross Country All-Americans.

The 2013 team returned 6 of the top 7, to form another talented and deep squad that carried on the success of Williams women’s cross country and peaked when it counted, finishing 2nd at the NCAA Division III Championship.  Kaleigh Kenny capped her cross career finishing 3rd and freshman Hannah Cole started her nationals career finishing in 29th.

The 2014 team returns veteran leaders and adds talented first years.  2014 promises to be a fun-filled and success-filled season!