By Jake Sauberman, news staff
Still riding their triumph at the New England Championships, Northeastern University (NU)’s cross country team rolled into Saturday’s meet in Newark, Delaware with confidence.
The last time that Saturday’s runners lined up , they recorded the first men’s overall victory in the New England Championships since 1972 and the highest women’s finish in school history.
Looking to continue that hot streak, seniors Paul Duffey and Lucy Young led the Huskies’ men’s and women’s teams to a second and fourth place finish respectively in the CAA Championships.
After an off-week for many of the runners, including Young, the team’s training regimen was put to the test to keep the athletes energized but ultimately prepared.
“I didn’t change my normal routine, just prepared as I usually would,” Young said in an email to The News. “We tapered down a little with training throughout the week, which helped us to feel fresh on race day.”
Duffey finished the 8K race in 2nd place with a 25:21 finish time. Following him was sophomore Dan Romano (7th, 25:33), freshman Chance Lamberth (9th, 25:45), sophomore Michael Potter (13th, 25:57), senior Robert Macon (15th, 26:24), sophomore Tucker McNinch (18th, 26:39) and senior Patrick Cunningham (19th, 26:51).
The men’s team displayed their top-to-bottom lineup strength, recording no finish worse than 20th out of the 54 runners who competed.
On NU’s women’s team, Young led with a 22:08 in the 6K, taking 10th place overall. Finishing behind her was senior Jordan O’Dea (14th, 22:27), freshman Louiza Wise (28th, 22:57), freshman Amanda Hickey (31st, 23:08), sophomore Elizabeth Harrington (37th, 23:25), sophomore Amy Piccolo (41st, 23:35) and junior Kerri Ruffo (45th, 23:41).
“I feel very positive about the women’s and men’s finishes at the meet, and think that it was a great overall result,” Young said. “It was a big improvement on the women’s side, so it is great to be a part of that.”
The next meet for the Northeastern squad is the NCAA Northeast Regionals, on Nov. 11.
Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics
