The men's and women's cross country teams have undergone a significant transformation from last year. Marc Boutin '12 and Chris Brown '12, as well as Kate Warwick '12, have all graduated from their Judges careers.

These seniors represent big shoes for the Judges to fill.

Co-captains Boutin and Brown repeatedly made headlines for Brandeis, earning All-New England honors and All-University Athletic Association honors at the UAA Championships. Brown was also featured for his success last spring in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd," a distinction awarded for his achievements as the "New England Division III outdoor runner of the year."

Warwick also was a steady presence for the women's squad and made a huge statement at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III National Tournament. She finished 48th in the six-kilometer race out of a field of 288 runners with a time of 21 minutes, 54.82 seconds.

While it may be a difficult transition for the Judges this season, both squads look to build on strong performances from last season.

Coach John Evans expressed the idea that both of his squads have the potential to exceed expectations and succeed this upcoming year.

"I think the girl's squad will be even better, and the boys will get to be where they need to be, hopefully making Nationals again," said Evans.

Alex Kramer '13 and Taylor Dundas '14, who both finished in the top 50 at the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Regionals with times of 25:41.37 and 25:45.59 respectively, look to headline the men's squad. Ed Colvin '14, who ran to a top 50 spot at last fall's five-kilometer race, finishing in 25:45.59, has found a niche as part of Brandeis' cross country squad. With last season's seniors gone, the young star will need to shoulder more of the load on race day.

Colvin stated that the loss of Boutin and Brown undoubtedly will have a significant impact on the makeup of the team this season.

"Losing [Brown] and [Boutin] is going to be very hard," he said. "We all saw his real talent with his two All-Americans. [Boutin] was also very talented and was ... like a father figure to the team. To have two great senior captains like that was fantastic. Our team is definitely going to be missing a piece without those two around."

However, he also said that he is optimistic about the team's potential this season, especially with a new corps of first-years to replenish the ranks.

"We have a good [first year] class coming in this year, which is sure to make an immediate impact because we are looking at a fairly small team this year," he said.

The women's team, who lost Erin Bisceglia '12, Monique Girard '12, and Alyssa Pisarik '12, in addition to Warwick, will also need runners to step up and fill new roles.

Ali Kirsch '14 demonstrated an impressive outing at Regionals with a 41st-place finish at 22:38.15. Amelia Lundkvist '14 and Victoria Sanford '14 also showed promise with top-100 finishes at the season-ending meet. Miriam Stulin '15 ended her inaugural season with the team on a high note, placing 51st at 22:50.08.

Colvin noted that the squads' goals this season are to perform to the best of the team's ability.

"As always, we are looking to qualify for nationals and finish top in our region," he said. "Summer training went very well for our team. I did more work and training than I've ever done over the course of a summer, so I'm very excited to see what I can do at my best. Same goes for the rest of the guys; everyone put in a good summer and we are looking forward to the season."

The men and women host their first meet this Friday against the University of Southern Maine.
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