November 14, 1998

MIT Men's Cross Country team traveled to Babson College on Saturday to compete in the combined NCAA Qualifier and New England Division III Championship. Ranked 10th in the country for Division III and 2nd in New England, Tech hoped to extend their season another week by placing among the top 4 teams to qualify for Nationals. It was not to be as the consistent top 2 of Mark Strauss '01, Mike Parkins '99, failed to provide the leadership, finishing 6th and 5th on the team respectively.

Going into the race, there were 6 New England teams ranked in the top 25 in the country for Division III. MIT knew it would be a challenge to be one of the qualifying teams. With a tremendous conference championship fresh on their minds, the Tech harriers wanted to compete for the win. The plan was to get out in position, but to be sure and keep some Williams, Tufts, and Brandeis runners in front to run off of. The first two miles were to be easy, and to begin moving up in groups after that point.

The race began with a fast 1st mile of 4:44 for the large lead pack, Strauss and Parkins followed closely in 4:46 in 14th and 15th positions. Chris McGuire '00, and Dan Feldman '02, were in the position they wanted at 23rd and 24th, but a little fast in 4:49. Sean Montgomery '01, and Phil Loiselle '01 also were positioned well at 39th and 40th in 4:54. During the 2nd mile things were already looking bad as Strauss was looking tired and Parkins was already fading. The others were still in good position and looked as if they were ready to run. Williams College was ahead along with Keene State, but Tufts and Brandeis were well within reach.

The 3rd mile was more of the same. Strauss was still leading the team, but had faded to 18th position, and Parkins had faded to 20th. Feldman, possibly accustomed to running off of Strauss and Parkins, also began to fade as he fell to 24th with McGuire following suit at 29th. Good news was that Montgomery and Loiselle had moved up to 30th and 31st places. MIT was already in 5th place at this point.

The 4th mile was disastrous for MIT. Strauss ran a 5:30 mile, moving to 5th on the team. Parkins ran a 5:24 and moved back to Feldman and Loiselle. McGuire had moved up considerably, as had Loiselle and Montgomery, but it was not enough to catch the front teams.

The last mile and finish changed little for MIT. Season best performances were provided by McGuire in 23rd at 26:01, Loiselle in 25th at 26:03, and Montgomery in 28th at 26:09. Feldman ran okay in 27th at 26:07, but had run :04 faster 6 weeks earlier under worse conditions. Parkins and Strauss finished in 26:10 and 26:20 respectively to finish in 29th and 34th places, but had run 25:51 and 25:52 6 weeks earlier on the same course, and 26:11 and 26:01 on a very challenging Coast Guard course just two weeks prior.

MIT finished in 5th position just 19 points behind Brandeis. :30 faster cumulatively for MIT would have provided a trip to Nationals and a chance of redemption. That opportunity now must wait until next year, when MIT will field a team that will be entirely intact except for Parkins. The personal bests by Loiselle and Montgomery were an excellent way to end the season. McGuire coming back from his month long injury and finish #1 was a real tribute to his determination and competitiveness. Feldman had an excellent rookie year. The delta of :09 through the first 5 runners, combined with nine graduating runners who finished in front of them, makes for some lofty hopes for next year's harriers.