After every men's cross-country runner set a career personal record in the National qualifying race, it seemed nearly impossible that they could come through with a duplicate performance the following week. However, the team actually bettered its performance, with each runner again setting a new personal record on Saturday at the NCAA Division III National Championship race.
In a great weekend for Tufts cross country, both the men's and women's teams had stellar performances at the Championship on Saturday in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The ninth-place finish by the men was the second best in school history, as the Jumbos narrowly beat out conference rivals Bates and Williams.
"The race went really well," senior captain Matt Lyons said. "We finally put everything together and got the job done. We were really prepared for the race and we did well."
Lyons finished 37th in the race (24:48) but was beaten out by fellow senior Steve Kaye, who blazed over the line with a time of 24:41.
"I tried to go out with the leaders and be aggressive," Lyons said. "But it wasn't meant to be. You win some, you lose some."
Although Lyons may have had a personal loss, the team came back as victors. Maintaining its second-place ranking for New England schools was a big goal for the team, and it was just able to hold off rivals Bates and Williams. Tufts finished with 276 points and Bates and Williams followed with 281 and 284, respectively. Keene State, who won the NCAA New England race, finished second in the nation with an impressive score of 100.
Kaye finished his career with an inspired race which helped lead the team.
"He had a phenomenal race," sophomore JR Cruz said. "He really stepped it up when Matt fell back and has really helped lead the team the second half of the season."
Junior Dave Patterson finished in 63rd place with the time of 25:08. Patterson, who is also a track star, helped explain the extremely fast times. "The course was really like running on a track because it was so flat and the grass was cut so short," he said.
Senior Pete Rodrigues finished right behind Patterson, in 68th place, with a time of 25:11, followed by sophomore Jason Mann in 78th place (25:18). The tight pack between these three runners helped in getting such a low score. With hundreds of competitive runners, a few seconds can mean dozens of points.
Cruz finished in 115th place with a time of 25:43.
"We are all really satisfied with the race," Cruz said. "We hoped to do a little better, but everyone ran the best times in their careers. For the returning runners, this will be something to build on for next year."
Last on the team was sophomore Ben Smith, finishing just behind Cruz in 121st place with a time of 25:48.
Last year the team was disappointed with its 13th-place finish, and blamed its less-than-optimal performance on anxiety. Since few runners had experience with a race of this caliber, it was a bit overwhelming. Saturday's race was a different story, as the experienced runners joked around before the race, knowing in the back of their minds what had to be accomplished.
Making three appearances at Nationals in the past four years, the team has raised its expectations even more. Losing three solid runners next year will surely hurt the team, but through this experience, the other four varsity runners should be able to match this year's performance.
"I think we will have a strong team next year," Patterson said. "We showed that we have a good pack, even with injuries. We will have to step it up, but we should definitely be as good."
The goal of this season for the cross-country team was to create a dynasty. Through its clutch performances at the end of the season, it changed from a team full of excuses into a dominant powerhouse, which will not be stopped any time in the near future.
