Though the meet was non-scoring, the women's cross country team ran hard last Friday against the University of Southern Maine, finishing with two of the top three runners in the race.

In total, the Judges entered six runners in the meet. Miriam Stulin '15 paced Brandeis in her first collegiate meet, covering the 4K course in 15 minutes, 42 seconds. Brandeis' top returning runner, Kate Warwick '12, grabbed third with a time of 15:52.

Warwick was pleased with the way that the team ran.

"We went out in tempo, and we all had paces that our coach gave us beforehand, ... and we all tried to stick to that," she said.

However, while running the meet, Warwick said that she ran ahead of the set pace, which threw off her timing.

"I was supposed to be with another girl, Miriam [Stulin], but we kind of split off," she said. "And we both went faster than we were supposed to, but we both kept the pace that we went at."

The next two Brandeis runners to finish were both sophomores. Amelia Lundkvist '14 and Victoria Sanford '14 finished the race in a near tie, coming in seventh and eighth, respectively. Lundkvist finished in 16:55, while Sanford ran the course in 16:56. Right behind the two sophomores were Brandeis' final two runners, Monique Gerard '12 and Kristi Pisarik '15, who placed in ninth and 10th with times of 17:02 and 17:03, respectively.

As the women's squad enters a new season, the team is excited about its first-year runners. However, the team also lost several of its top runners, including three of its top four athletes from regional championships, meaning that the team must work early on to redefine its identity.

"Missing Grayce [Selig] '11 and Marie [Lemay] '11 will be a step back. But we gained freshmen and, hopefully, they can just get stronger as they go," said Warwick. "At this point, everyone's strong at running, and that's all we could have hoped for. But we'll see. It's hard to tell right now."

Warwick is now a senior, and she said that she still is adjusting to more of a leadership role.

"It feels different [being a senior] because all the freshmen are asking questions now," she said. "But I like being a senior. I'll be sad to leave it, and I'll make the most of my senior year. Training is the same as it's ever been, and I just go out and do the best I can."

Both the men's and women's cross country teams have their next meet on September 24 at the University of Massachusetts Shriner's Invitational. Last season, Warwick excelled at the event, placing third.