Sub-Varsity Women Sweep Emmanuel Invite

Men Are Much Improved

October 16, 2009

Resting their top six runners, MIT's women, third ranked in the country, led by Katherine Eve '12, showed they are capable of stepping up and taking responsibility for the team when they swept the top five places at the fifth annual Emmanuel College Invitational at Franklin Park. The men, led by a rejuvenated Paul Welle '11, could not earn first place individually, but swept the next five places to earn the team victory.

Despite the very wet, somewhat muddy course, and the windy 45 degree temperatures, Eve led the way through a crisp 5:47 first mile along with teammate Tania Morimoto '12. Katy Gordon '11, was right behind at 5:49. Back a bit were Alicia Kaestli '12, and Lauren Allen '13, in 6:00. Even though there were 19 full teams, most of them were being careful and not going out too fast, so MIT was not being challenged very much.

At the two mile mark, MIT was demonstrating their superiority on the course with Eve opening up a large lead over everyone but teammate Morimoto as they came through in an impressive 12:01 and 12:03. Gordon had fallen back but was still in third place at 12:26. Kaestli and Allen were back at 12:32 and 12:35 respectively. Eve continued to hammer the course, putting in a 6:09 third mile en route to finishing in a personal best of 18:50. Morimoto faded with a 6:27 but still ran a Franklin Park best of 19:16. Gordon tripped and fell during the third mile, breaking her glasses and having to stop due to her inability to see. Kaestli finished strong to finish in 19:40. Allen ran an excellent 19:54 for fourth place. With Gordon not finishing, the sweep was in jeopardy, but Juliann Lajoie '13, finished with a great 6:31 mile to move up to fifth place and finish in a Franklin Park best 20:06.

The men, resting their top two, as well as their number six runner, were looking to find out exactly who they were after last week's debacle. In this meet they were expecting similar competition encountered by the women's team, so when freshman Dawit Zewdie, went out in 4:55, he was probably surprised to see Greg Redfield, from Johnson & Wales College, right beside him. Teammates Bill Phipps '10, and Dan Harper '12, were right behind in 4:57. Just behind them were Ben Mattocks '12, and Gihan Amarasiriwardena '11. Following a safe distance back were Paul Welle '11, and Stephen Serene '12, in 5:05.

Mile two saw MIT's top five runners separate themselves from the rest of the field, and Welle, running an excellent 5:20 split, had moved up to fourth with Amarasiriwardena, just five seconds behind Zewdie, who was not having any success pulling away from Redfield. In the third mile, Welle and Serene took over the top two spots for MIT, but could not catch Redfield. Phipps and Mattocks had moved into fourth and fifth place with Zewdie hanging onto sixth.

In the fourth mile the positions were pretty much set with the exception of Zewdie continuing to fade due to some severe intestinal cramps he had been suffering since the first mile, and Amarasiriwardena and Harper moving up. Welle was only three seconds back of first at the four mile mark and looked to be ready to make a move. However, even though he pushed hard, Welle finished nine seconds out of first in 26:11. Serene closed well, running 26:14 for third place. Phipps had the fastest final mile for the Engineers and finished one second back of Serene in 26:15. Mattocks finished fifth in 26:21 and Amarasiriwardena out kicked Cusick from Lesley College in the end to secure sixth place, giving MIT 20 points. Many MIT runners ran season and personal bests despite the weather and course conditions, righting the ship so to speak.

The next meet for MIT, and last one before the NCAA New England Regional meet is the NEWMAC Championships on 10/31, a meet the MIT men have never lost and one the women have won the past two years. The conference championship will be hosted by Wellesley College at Franklin Park with the men racing at 11:00 and the women at noon. Despite being favorites, the Engineers have a lot to work on as they prepare for the post season.

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