This weekend, freezing temperatures didn’t slow the team down as the Blue Hens finished up their 2018 cross country season at NIRCA Nationals in Lexington, KY! Official results are here.

The women’s team wrapped up a strong and consistent season with a 20th place overall finish. They focused on pack running in post-season workouts, which paid off as they managed a relatively close top 5 split. They were led by Abby Kaye, who ran a time of 24:01.50–she was the 77th woman. Haley Reid was next for the Blue Hens, coming in 24:31.40 for a 100th place finish. The rest of the team was not far behind: Talia Brookstein-Burke was 106th in 24:40.60 and Ana Dacey was 108th in 24:45.30. Emily Magoon crossed the line in 25:09.20 for a 124th place finish.

For the rest of the top 7, Elise LaFramboise was 133rd in 25:34.20 and Natalie Fuhr was 134th in 25:36.60. In the women’s freshman-sophomore race, Emily Hansell was 29th in 25:12.00, and in the junior-senior race, Lydia Izzo was 31st in 25:55.50.

The men team did not have the finish they were hoping for, as only 4 of the team’s top 7 completed the race. Brandon Holveck, who has put down the fastest time of any Blue Hen this season, was unable to make the trip out to Kentucky. In addition to this, Brandon Quanci and Schuyler Reed–typically 2 of our fastest runners–did not finish. Regardless, the remaining team members stepped up. Mike Durkin was 36th overall, covering the rolling hills of Lexington in 26:36.80. Nick Fafel was 2nd for the men, running 28:56.60 for 188th place. Evan Massa then came in at 29:32.10 for 207th place. Paul Filipow was 233rd in 31:02.40 and Evan Driscoll was 239th in 31:22.50.

Lorenzo Andaya had the best finish for our men in the freshman-sophomore race, coming in 133rd in 30:09.30. President Sean Goodwin, in his first trip to cross country nationals, clocked in at 31:59.70 for a 128th place finish in the junior-senior race.

With this weekend in the books, the 2018 cross country season comes to a close. The team experienced a great deal of growth and development, and has much to be proud of. A special thank you to Sean Goodwin, whose hard work and organization made this weekend possible! With photography from Jayke Marsh, pictures are below: