By Jake Sauberman, news staff
Northeastern cross country continued its streak of impressive finishes over the weekend, competing in the NCAA Northeast Regionals in The Bronx, New York. The men’s and women’s teams both finished in solid standing, ending in 14th out of 35 and 17th out of 37, respectively.
“The competition at the Northeast Regional Championship was leagues ahead of the New England Championship,” senior captain Paul Duffey wrote in an email to News. “It was very challenging, but it was also a longer race, a 10K compared to an 8K. We don’t typically race that long, but it was critical for the younger guys to get the experience for years to come.”
Duffey once again led the way for the men’s team, crossing the line 57th overall with a 10K time of 31:59. Right behind him, was freshman Chance Lamberth, who finished 58th with a time just 0.15 seconds behind Duffey. Following Lamberth was sophomore Michael Potter (69th, 32:12), sophomore Dan Romano (107th, 32:44), senior Patrick Cunningham (148th, 33:26), senior Robert Macon (170th, 33:45) and sophomore Tucker McNinch (190th, 34:17).
“Chance continuously impresses me,” Duffey said. “He’s always ready to go, always ready to step up and do his job, and often he goes above and beyond. I remember thinking to myself as he passed me in the race, ‘He’s good, I’m going to have to dig deep to catch him.’”
This race represented a big step forward for Lamberth, who hadn’t finished higher than third among Northeastern runners. To finish alongside the senior team captain as a freshman gives the Huskies something to be excited about both now and for the future.
“If you would have asked me earlier in the year, I would have never thought I would be running with the seniors on my team,” Lamberth said. “They are all very talented guys who know a lot about the sport, and because of that they have made me into a better runner. I definitely owe my success to them and to my coach.”
On the women’s side, senior Jordan O’Dea finished first, coming in 34th place with a 21:24 time in the 6K race. O’Dea’s exceptional time couldn’t be matched by her teammates, however, as 35 other runners crossed the finish line before senior Lucy Young came in at 70th, sporting a time of 21:58. Following her was sophomore Elizabeth Harrington (130th, 22:40), freshman Louiza Wise (136th, 22:45), junior Brooke Wojeski (149th, 22:52), freshman Amanda Hickey (163rd, 23:01) and sophomore Amy Piccolo (175th, 23:13).
Lack of top-to-bottom consistency hurt Northeastern this time around. The team usually relies on an “everybody in the middle of the pack” strategy to succeed. The runners will look to get back to their dependable formula on Nov. 19, when they close out the season in The Bronx, New York for the IC4A Championships.
Duffey is optimistic about closing out the men’s season strong.
“We have a good shot at first place.” Duffy said. “As always, we’re just going to keep our heads down, race hard and hopefully go out on top.”
Lamberth echoed Duffy’s optimism in closing out the season.
“I expect the team to do very well and end a very successful season on a high note,” Lamberth said. “The team has put in a lot of hard workouts throughout the season and we have every intention to carry that momentum as we transition into indoor track.”
Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics
