MEN AND WOMEN HAVE GOOD SHOWING AT ST. OLAF INVITATIONAL
September 15, 2007
With near perfect weather at the St. Olaf Invitational, hosted by St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, the site of the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship in November the men's and women's teams from MIT held their own in their respective races, the women tieing for eighth with 220 points and the men placing sixth with a 153. The women's race had 25 teams and 369 finishers while the men had 27 teams and 350 runners completed the race.
The women got out strong off the line, successfully avoiding getting trapped behind the horde of runners. Maria Monks, suffering from a pretty bad cold, decided she could race and did not hesitate in getting right up with the leaders. She came through the first mile in 5:47 while the rest of the team was between 6:02 and 6:11. Number one runner last week, Nicole Bucala, did not make the trip, so someone in the second group needed to step-up. Hearing the first mile split did not have the desired effect, instead the women thought they went out too fast and backed off. As Monks began to feel the effects of her cold, the main group of MIT runners began to maintain the gap. After the three mile mark, Monks had very little kick left while Jacqui Wentz had plenty left, making up 14 seconds in the final seven tenths of a mile of the 6,000 meter course. Monks finished in 23: 38 for 22nd place while Wentz completed the 6K in 23:56 for 32nd place. Completing the top five for the Engineers were Katy Gordon in 24:13 (49th), Liz Labuz in 24:19 (58th) and Alina Gatowski in 24:22 (62nd).
The men were able to run with their top eight although a couple of them also had colds. Also getting off the line well, the runners from Tech established themselves well at the first mile. Jake Ruzevick and Yermie Cohen, who was the most under the weather, led the group with a 5:02 split while the next six were bunched between 5:07 and 5:08. Not fearing the split they forged ahead, nearly even splitting the next three miles despite the fourth mile being almost entirely uphill. Ruzevick established himself in the top 20 and stayed there the entire race, finishing in 18th place in 26:11. Joe Roy-Mayhew caught up with Cohen by mile four and pulled ahead, finishing in 26:26, good for 25th place. Cohen was right behind in 26:37, remarkable given the way he was feeling. Trevor Rundell and Brian Jacokes ran together for the first four miles, pushing each other to a strong finish, with Rundell in 26:38 (34th) and Jacokes in 26:46 (47th). The 35 second delta through the top five was a strong showing for the Engineeers, allowing them to place within 21 points of ninth ranked Allegheny College.
Both teams know they can improve and hope to make some of that happen at next week's meet at the Connecticut College Invitational, a very flat course at Harkness Park. MIT may hold out a couple of their top runners but the core should be able to shine at the fast course.