The men’s and women’s cross country teams finished off impressive seasons at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championships at Williams College this past Saturday, sending Kelsey Whitaker ’16 to the NCAA Division III Championships in the process. The men finished ninth overall out of 54 teams, while the women secured a 13th place finish in a field of 57 teams.

The mens’ finish was their best at the regional meet since the 2011 to 2012 season.  

“Our [men’s squad] is a young team, led by Jarret Harrigan [’15] and [Grady Ward ’16],” said coach Sinead Evans. “But the rest of the scores are from freshmen and sophomore [runners].”

“The goal [coming in] was to get in the top-10 in New England.”

Harrigan, who placed 45th out of 373 runners, once again led the squad after spending most of the year as the Judges’ top finisher. Harrigan finished the eight-kilometer race with a time of 26:32.9, his fastest time in the conference championships. 

Quinton Hoey ’17 finished in 57th with a time of 26:45.1, while Ryan Stender ’18 had a time of 26:49.0, good for 60th place. Mitchell Hutton ’18  ran the eight kilometers in 26:55.7,  which was for a 68th place finish and fourth on the squad.   

Grady Ward ’16 finished with a 27:22.4 for 94th place, while Matt Doran ’17 and Liam Garvey ’18 took 115th and 135th place with times of 27:37.2 and 27:53.5, respectively.  

The squad’s 324 points were 150 points more than they earned in last year’s competition and also put them 30 points ahead of 10th place Wesleyan University.

“We had a bit of ups and downs in the season, especially [the University Athletic Association Championships], which affected the team,” Evans said. “They ran great and a really solid race, back to where we want to be as a top-10 team in New England. 

“Hopefully, they’ll be a stronger team next year, finishing a bit higher in the region and earning a bid to NCAAs.”

The women ended the competition with 421 points, which left them 11 points back of 12th place Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The result was a step back from last year’s result, when the Judges earned fifth place. 

The team was led by Kelsey Whitaker ’16, who earned her first career All-New England honor with an 18th place finish out of the field of 387 competitors. 

Her time of 22:30.0 in the six-kilometer race was her best performance of the season and was good enough to gain her an invite to her second-straight NCAA Division III Championships. 

However, Whitaker was not the only member of the squad with an impressive performance on the day. Maddie Dolins ’17 finished with a time of 23:5.2 that gave her a 50th- place finish overall. Lydia McCaleb ’17 finished in 77th place with a time of 23:46.1. Ending the race exactly one minute after McCaleb was Ashley Piccirillo-Horan ’17, whose time netted the runner a 136th place finish.

“Both [Whitaker] and [Dolins] struggled at UAAs [with fitness issues], and it was a matter of training,” Evans explained. 

“After UAAs, they took it easy, and it was just enough time to get [Whitaker] to [racing a time] she’s capable of. It was just a little bit of inconsistency [earlier this year], but nothing out of her control.”

Whitaker had yet to be the first Brandeis runner to cross the line during the outdoor season after finishing fourth on the team at the UAA Championships on Nov. 1 and second on the team at the Connecticut College Invitational on Oct. 18.

Kyra Shreeve ’18 and Molly Paris  ’16 finished three spots apart in 140th and 143rd with  times of 24:50.6 and 24:53.7, respectively. 

Kristi Pisarik ’15 rounded out the squad's runners with an 185th place finish in 25:27.0. 

Both teams have completed their respective seasons, but Whitaker’s  season continues as the sole representative of Brandeis at the NCAA Division III Championships this weekend. 

The NCAA Championships will take place in the Golf Center at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio  on Saturday afternoon, beginning at 12:30 p.m. 

—Avi Gold contributed reporting.