2002 Season Updates and Race
Notes
Click on (Student Article) for school paper article
Most recent meets first
Season Depth Chart at the bottom of the page
Kudos Winners - Performer of the Meet
NCAA Championships - Nov 23rd
Carter Hamill was the lone representative for Amherst at the NCAA National
Championships held in Northfield, Minnesota at St.Olaf College. With temps
in the mid 30's and a gusty wind making it feel significantly lower, and
the best field to race against, Carter ran awesome. Establishing great
position immediately, she was never out of the Top10-12 runners at any
point in the race. She came out of the 2nd pond loop right behind a small
pack of runners including several Williams runners, and Middlebury and
Springfield. About a mile later, as she headed back into the pond loop,
she was battling a Williams and Middlebury runner as the three of them
were 10th,11th and 12th. At the 5k mark, she was still 12th, but shortly
after, as she came out of the pond loop and entered the field for the final
600m of the race she had pulled away from her group and was solidly in
10th place, where she would end up finishing. In addition to earning her
2nd All-American honors in XC (18th last year) and 4th for track and XC,
she also had the highest ever finish at the XC Championships for an Amherst
woman. The previous best finish was in 1985 by Berit Ashla.
NCAA Districts - Nov 16th (Women's
Student & Men's
Student)
Kudos Winners - Matt Katz & Carter Hamill
Competing on the Stanley Park course in Westfield, the men and women raced
for the chance to compete in the NCAA's next weekend at St.Olaf in Minnesota.
While the weather was far from nice - cold, drizzle and some snow - it
was not as bad as what had been forecasted for the day. The men got under
way with their 5 mile race, and things looked great in the early stages
as everyone had gotten out well and were in great position. John Stanton-Geddes,
looking for an individual berth at NCAA's put himself in great position
and raced his best race of the year as he earned All-New England honors
with his 20th place finish. Unfortunately, he was the 10th individual and
it was the Top Nine that would earn the NCAA berth. Matt Katz had his best
race of the year as he raced up in the front of the race for the entirety
and had a great finishing duel in the closing stages and missed All-New
England honors by a mere place. James Johndrow, clearly the most improved
runner this season as he returned early this fall and started training
and did not race until the championship season began, continued his improvement
by setting his PR by nearly a minute and grabbing 3rd man honors. Jack
Morgan and Zeke Phillips finished in 4th and 5th for the team as they came
in within seconds of one another. Carson Taylor, battling a cold in addition
to the conditions, finished 6th for the team and Mike Page continued to
be hampered by a stomach problem that sat him out for the last 2 races.
Carter Hamill, backing off from the early pace pushing in an effort
to reserve strength for the NCAA's, had a great race as she ran relaxed
and comfortable to finish 9th overall and earn an individual bid for a
trip to St.Olaf. Erinn White just missed earning All-New England Honors
(Top 35) as she put herself in great position from the start of the
race and then continued to race well throughout. Helen Dole had her best
race of the season, at just the right time as she grabbed 3rd spot for
the team and just missed cracking the Top 50 as she raced to her 5k PR
en route to the 6k finish. Laurel Kilgour, earning the spot on the team
for districts with her great run last weekend at ECAC's, had her best race
of the season as she raced well with Alli Dimon though out, to grab 4th
and 5th place for the team. First year Jenny Horowitz finished her first
season with another strong run as she finished 6th for the team.
ECAC's - Nov 9th (Men's
Student & Women's
Student)
Kudos Winners - James Johndrow and Laurel Kilgour
The men and women both sat out their Top 6 runners in preparation for the
District meet on the 16th, and this provided those racing an opportunity
to prove themselves, and factor into the team scoring. On a day that resembled
early September rather then early November, both teams competed extremely
well and finished in the Top Seven in both races. The men were led by senior
James Johndrow, who in only his 3rd race of the year, earned All-ECAC honors
by virture of his Top 15 finish. David Molin, battling a nagging hamstring
and calf injury, still raced great and finished his first full XC season
with much success. Andy Schneider and David Schreiner, racing together
for much of the race both finished strong to grab 3rd and 4th spot on the
team, while Cameron Millard returned from time in the pool to grab the
5th spot and help the team grab it's 7th place showing. Senior Captain
Alex Lenkoski, finished an outstanding career with a solid performance
and grabbed 6th man honors, with Fraser Kitchell rounding out the Seven.
The women, and their 5th place team finish, were led by the duo of Laurel
Kilgour and Margaret Davis, as both nearly grabbed All-ECAC honors (Top
15) as they were 16th and 21st respectively for the 6000m course. Jess
Conell-Price had a very strong last 600m and passed several runners with
her strong finishing kick to grab 3rd spot for the team. Sarah DeGraaf
had her best race of the year as she grabbed 4th for the team with a big
PR for 6000m, as did Alison Rodriguez who finished in 5th for the team.
Marcie Griffith, and Allison Buechner had excellent races to finish the
season on a strong note.
NESCAC's - Nov 2nd (Women's
Student)
Kudos Winners - Fraser Kitchell & Marcie Griffith
Competing in the very, blustery and cold conditions that the Tufts course
provided for the NESCAC's (arguably the strongest conference in the country),
the teams fared well. The women got under way first, and as it had been
the case since her second meet of her freshmen year, Carter Hamill led
the way for the team. Running against numerous All-Americans from the past
year, Dan a slew of potential All-Americans in the upcoming weeks, she
raced to a 6th place showing to earn 1st Team All-NESCAC honors. Erinn
White, Helen Dole and Ali Dimon who raced one of her best races of the
season, all finished within 9 seconds of one another. Jenny Horowitz just
missed cracking the 20 minute mark as she finished 5th overall for the
team and led a chase pack of Hilary Plum, and fast charging kickers Laurel
Kilgour and Jess Conell-Price who were all separated by 3 seconds. Alison
Rodriguez had a strong race, as did Marcie Griffith whop ran to her fastest
time of the year on a very challenging course.
The men were again led by John Stanton-Geddes who had a great race and
was up in the Top 14 for the entire race and earned All-NESCAC 2nd Team
with his eventual 11th place finish. Matt Katz was the second runner for
the team, and had a nice finishing kick to knock off several runners. Carson
Taylor continues to improve steadily despite a nagging leg injury, and
knocked over a minute off of his time form the last time we raced on the
course. Zeke Phillips ran with carson for the majority of the race, and
grabbed 4th for the team. A very tight pack if Purple finished up the scoring
for the team, as Fraser Kitchell and Dave Molina worked off of each other
through the race and were able to pick off crucial scoring runners in the
last part of the race. Andrew Schneider had a blistering finish as he closed
to within seconds of our 5th Dan 6th runners. James Johndrow had another
solid race as he was just out of the scoring runners, and Dave Schreiner
was just off of his shoulder. In the open race, Adam David knocked nearly
a minute off of his time form the last time he raced the tufts course,
and Doug Norton was the first finished in the 5k division.
Little Three's - Oct. 26th (Men's
Student & Women's
Student)
Kudos Winners - Carson Taylor & Hilary Plum
Heading to the Purple Valley for the annual Little Three Clash, we drove
through towns with up to 3 inches of snow on the ground, but upon arriving
at the Mt. Greylock course, it was only going to be mud, water, rain and
a little more mud for the runners to deal with. The women started things
off on the day with a solid team performance that tested the depth of the
team as they were able to nose out Wesleyan for runner-up honors by a mere
3 points. Carter Hamill was once again the top runner for the team as she
finished 4th overall and ran alone for nearly the entire race. Erinn White
grabbed a Top Ten finish to grab 2nd on the team, while Helen Dole and
Hilary Plum had a great last mile to get in front of a Wesleyan pack of
runners, and Alison Dimon secured the win over Wesleyan with her 20th place
finish. Jenny Horowitz came in a few steps after, and fellow first year
Margaret Davis rounded out the Top Seven.
The men raced well, and got some great running from several people,
but still ended up on the short end of the stick as they finished 3rd behind
Williams and Wesleyan. John Stanton-Geddes again led the team, and was
with the lead pack through the entire race before falling off a little
bit in the last 200 meters but still grabbed 5th. Matt Katz grabbed a Top
Ten finish, and co-captain Carson Taylor had another great race for the
team as he grabbed 3rd runner honors and 14th overall. Jack Morgan, returning
after a three week stint in the pool due to nagging injuries, raced well
despite some stomach issues over the last 2 miles and finished 4th for
the team. Zeke Phillips had a great race as he led a pack of four runners
- Dave Schreiner, David Molina and Fraser Kitchell, all of whom are running
in their first year of XC and have really started to step their running
up a notch over the past few weeks. James Johndrow, racing for the first
time since freshmen year, and with only a few workouts under his belt,
had a great race and could be a major factor by the end of the season.
Open New England's - October
11th
(Men's
Student & Women's
Student)
Kudos Winners - Adam David & Helen Dole
Competing against every school in New England at the famous for cross country
venue of Franklin Park - home of the 92 World Championships - both teams
met with mixed results in the rainy weather. Both teams were missing key
runners, who were unable to compete due to class conflicts, but the name
of the game is stepping up and the team did that. The women were led by
Carter Hamill's All-New England (Top 30 placers receive All-New England
certificates) 14th place showing. Helen Dole, despite being hampered by
a nagging IT Band problem ran a great race to grab 2nd place on the team
in her fastest time of the season and was followed closely by first year
runner Margaret Davis, Co-captain Ali Dimon and another first year runner
Jenny Horowitz - all of whom ran under 20 minutes. Jessamyn Conell-Price
was the 6th scorer for the team. IN the Junior Varsity race, Alison Rodriguez
had a great race as did Sarah DeGraaf who is returning from an injury,
and Marcie Griffth.
John Stanton-Geddes' sub 26 minute clocking led the way for the men,
and Matt Katz came across the line a few seconds later to grab second runner
honors. Carson Taylor had a great race to grab third for the men whit his
best time of the season, and Andy Schneider also dipped under the 27 minute
mark as he grabbed 4th man honors. Dave Molina rounded out the scoring
with his fastest tie of the season as he continues to steadily improve.
First year runner Dave Schreiner had a solid outing to finish 6th for the
team. In the junior varsity race, Fraser Kitchell led the men with his
strong second half of the race running, and Alex Lenkoski came across the
line just moments after. Cameron Millard had a great race as he returned
after an injury had him in the pool for the previous two weeks. Adam David
had the best race of the day for the men as he lowered his best time by
nearly a minute and zeroes in on breaking the 28 minute mark.
Tufts Invite - Sept. 28th (Men's
Student & Women's
Student)
Kudos Winners - Mike Page & Jenny Horowitz
On a near perfect fall day, the men did something that they have not done
in recent memory as they knocked off both Williams and Tufts en route to
winning the invite by an extremely close margin - 57 - 61 - 62. Mike Page
and John Stanton-Geddes raced extremely well, opening a gap on a pair of
Wesleyan runners in the last mile and finishing in 4th and 5th, and then
Matt Katz and a hard charging Jack Morgan grabbed 10th and 11th places,
to put 4 runners in front of the rest of the fields number 3 men. Dave
Molina grabbed 5th man honors as he finished very strongly in 28th place,
with Andrew Schneider and Zeke Phillips rounding out the scoring seven.
Several runners, including some who had been finishing in the Top 7 in
the first couple of meets, were slowed by illness but still competed well,
and look to improve upon their performances once healthy. Doug Norton had
a great first XC race as he nearly broke 29 minutes.
The women ran their first 6000m race, as the NCAA and District Qualifying
Races have been moved up to that distance, and showed that the extra 1000m
should not be a factor at the end of the season. While difficult to gauge
where the 6k time would compare to where they have been, they competed
very well and we continue to get some great tight pack running from our
3 - 9 runners. Carter Hamill once again led the women, as she finished
3rd overall behind a pair of Williams runners. Erinn White continues to
step up as she finished 15th overall, and then our next 5 runners all finished
within 18 seconds of each other as Ali Dimon, Jenny Horowitz, Hilary Plum,
Helen Dole and Margaret Davis all finished from 22nd to 31st. The strength
of that pack helped to hold off a strong charge by Wesleyan and Tufts.
Laurel Kilgour and Ginger Polich, out the race before with a lingering
knee injury, came in shortly after the pack, and Allison Buechner, Marcie
Griffith and Sarah DeGraaf all raced very well.
UMass Dartmouth Invite - Sept. 21st (Student)
Kudos Winners - Jack Morgan & Jessamyn Conell-Price
Both the men and the women were split into Varsity and Sub-Varsity for
the first time this season. The weather was beautiful and the fast UMass
course provided very good early season performances. For the men, the SubVarsity
race consisted of all of the first year runners and two guys who were racing
for the first time while the Varsity race was composed of the upperclassmen.
The men's JV got the day started off in a winning fashion as they put t
5 guys in the top 8 to easily win their race by nearly 30 points. Jack
Morgan ran away from the field at about the halfway mark and cruised to
an easy win in a time that would have earned him a top 15 finish in the
varsity race. Fraser Kitchell grabbed 3rd, while Dave Schreiner, David
Molina and Evan Guiney all raced extremely well to pack in the scoring
in 5th, 6th and 8th place, while fellow first year Adam David crushed the
30 minute barrier. In the varsity race, John Stanton-Geddes again
led the men as he finished 6th overall and went under the 26 minute mark
for the first time. Mike Page and Matt Katz both raced strong and finished
in the Top 15, and just missed running in the 25 minute range. Carson Taylor
and Cameron Millard, who used a great second half of the race to move up
strongly, grabbed 4th and 5th man honors, while Zeke Phillips finished
just behind them, with Alex Lenkoski rounding out the Top 7.
Carter Hamill led the women with her 3rd runner-up finish of the season
as she cruised to a fast early season time of 17:34 and dueled with Marissa
Clapp of Springfield for the 3rd weekend in a row. Erinn White had a great
race as she out herself in great position and finished 14th with her fastest
time thus far. Jess Conell-Price had a huge finish as she mowed down a
ton of runners in the last 1/2 mile of the race and nearly went under the
19 min mark in the process. Fellow first year runner Jenny Horowitz also
a had a very strong second half of the race to finish a stellar race and
grab 4th for the team, while Ali Dimon and Laurel Kilgour were kicking
hard as they came in immediately after. Margaret Davis and Hilary Plum
each came in at the same time and we had our 3-8 runners all packed in
within 20 seconds. In the JV race, Alison Rodriguez came out of the pool
and ran her first race of the year and had a great effort and grabbed a
Top 20 finish, while Allison Buechner ran her season bets time ny nearly
3 minutes, and had Marcie Griffith hot on her heels, and another "climb
out of the pool and run on land" Sarah DeGraaf opened up her season with
a good run.
Panther Invite - Sept. 14th (Student's
Men & Student's
Women)
Kudos Winners - John Stanton-Geddes & Hilary
Plum
Despite being in Vermont, the conditions were still very hot and muggy
and made a fairly tough course a little bit more challenging. The women
had their hands full with the defending NCAA Champion and host, Middlebury,
but ran well enough to hold the other teams at bay to grab runner-up honors.
Carter Hamill led the team with her runner-up finish, as she finished just
behind and just in front of two Top Ten runners at XC Nationals from last
year. Ali Dimon ran a strong race, using the hills to her benefit, and
Erinn White finished just behind her as both runners grabbed Top 15 honors.
Hilary Plum employed some different racing tactics and it helped her to
finish fourth on the team, with Helen Dole returning from a week of pool
workouts finishing just behind to round out the scoring for the team. First
year runner Margaret Davis finished 6th, with Laurel Kilgour coming in
a place behind her to finish 7th for the team.
The men earned their first victory in several years as the raced extremely
well and grabbed a hard fought win by a few points. John Stanton-Geddes
won his first ever XC race as he was able to pull away over the last 800m
to seal the win, and Mike Page had a great race as he finished 3rd overall
and just a few seconds behind John. Matt Katz, Zeke Phillips, Carson Taylor
and Andy Schneider all earned tee shirts with their Top 15 finishes, and
Fraser Kitchell was the 7th Amherst runner but missed a shirt by one place,
and had fellow first year runner Dave Schreiner hot on his heels in 17th
place.
Amherst Invite - Sept. 7th - (Student's
Women & Student's
Men)
Kudos Winners - Cameron Millard & Ginger Polich
In sauna like conditions and with some members absent due to class, both
teams kicked off their 2002 seasons with strong efforts at the Amherst
Invite as the women grabbed runner-up honors and then men took home third
place honors. Carter Hamill was the first Jeff to cross the line as she
used a strong last second kick to grab runner-up honors, while Erinn White
came across in 7th with Co-captain Ali Dimon finishing 12th. A trio of
first year runners - Ginger Polich, Jenny Horowitz and Margaret Davis had
strong efforts in their first collegiate races to grab the 4,5 and 6 spots
for the team, while Laurel Kilgour rounded out the varsity scoring.
John Stanton-Geddes used an extremely strong last 2 miles to work his
way up to 7th and finish first for the team, while Mike Page and Zeke Phillips
employed the same tactics and moved up well throughout the race to finish
in 15th and 16th. Cameron Millard knocked nearly 2 minutes off of his time
from a year ago to grab the 4th spot for the team, just in front of Andy
Schneider who had led the first 3.5 miles for the team. Co-captain Carson
Taylor, in his first race since last fall, grabbed the 6th spot with
a trio of first year runners competing at the 5 mile distance for the first
time - Fraser Kitchell, Evan Guiney and David Schreiner - just behind.
Co -captain Alex Lenkoski improved considerably on last years time and
was 10th for the team.
2002 Season Depth Chart
| First |
Last |
Year |
Amherst |
M'bury |
Umass |
Tufts |
NE's |
L3's |
Nesc |
ECAC |
Dist |
NCAA |
| Adam |
David |
06 |
17:41 |
32:17 |
29:36 |
31:01 |
28:35 |
30:29 |
30:23 |
|
|
|
| Evan |
Guiney |
06 |
29:30 |
29:27 |
27:34 |
29:11 |
28:13 |
28:51 |
29:03 |
|
|
|
| James |
Johndrow |
03 |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
28:25 |
27:42 |
27:40 |
26:49 |
|
| Matthew |
Katz |
05 |
. |
28:28 |
26:09 |
27:15 |
26:06 |
27:43 |
26:48 |
|
25:52 |
|
| Fraser |
Kitchell |
06 |
29:15 |
29:04 |
27:09 |
28:57 |
27:11 |
28:16 |
27:28 |
29:23. |
|
|
| Alex |
Lenkoski |
03 |
29:43 |
29:26 |
28:01 |
28:46 |
27:18 |
28:32 |
28:05 |
29:12 |
|
|
| Billy |
McNittIV |
06 |
. |
. |
. |
. |
32:12 |
34:15 |
19:55 |
|
|
|
| Cameron |
Millard |
05 |
28:25 |
30:33 |
27:13 |
. |
27:32 |
29:25 |
. |
28:44 |
|
|
| Dave |
Molina |
05 |
. |
. |
27:29 |
27:52 |
27:04 |
28:15 |
27:29 |
28:03 |
|
|
| Jack |
Morgan |
05 |
. |
. |
26:16 |
27:19 |
. |
28:01 |
28:41 |
|
27:02 |
|
| Doug |
Norton |
05 |
. |
. |
17:25 |
29:18 |
. |
. |
17:55 |
|
|
|
| Michael |
Page |
05 |
28:04 |
27:50 |
26:00 |
26:49 |
. |
28:30 |
. |
|
30:18 |
|
| Zeke |
Phillips |
05 |
28:08 |
28:38 |
27:30 |
28:15 |
. |
28:11 |
27:23 |
|
27:02 |
|
| Andrew |
Schneider |
04 |
28:26 |
28:50 |
. |
28:09 |
26:52 |
28:29 |
27:33 |
28:17 |
|
|
| David |
Schreiner |
06 |
29:30 |
29:15 |
27:27 |
28:25 |
27:15 |
28:13 |
27:47 |
28:30 |
|
|
| John |
Stanton-Geddes |
04 |
27:35 |
27:39 |
25:44 |
26:54 |
25:49 |
27:09 |
26:13 |
|
25:21 |
|
| Carson |
Taylor |
03 |
28:42 |
28:43 |
27:07 |
28:23 |
26:44 |
27:56 |
27:11 |
|
27:43 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| First |
Last |
Year |
Amherst |
M'bury |
Umass |
Tufts-6k |
NE's |
L3's |
NESCAC |
ECAC-6k |
Dist-6k |
NCAA-6k |
| Allison |
Buechner |
06
|
24:02
|
24:41
|
21:30
|
26:32
|
22:08
|
22:42
|
22:21
|
27:33
|
|
|
|
Jessamyn
|
Conell-Price
|
06
|
21:35
|
22:22
|
19:11
|
25:40
|
20:26
|
21:27
|
20:07
|
25:52
|
|
|
|
Margaret
|
Davis
|
06
|
21:15
|
21:17
|
19:35
|
24:24
|
19:47
|
21:01
|
20:25
|
25:10
|
|
|
|
Sarah
|
DeGraaf
|
05
|
.
|
.
|
21:42
|
26:51
|
21:26
|
23:01
|
21:37
|
26:07
|
|
|
|
Alison
|
Dimon
|
03
|
20:44
|
20:36
|
19:23
|
24:02
|
19:54
|
20:39
|
19:44
|
|
23:38
|
|
|
Helen
|
Dole
|
04
|
.
|
21:07
|
.
|
24:20
|
19:35
|
20:09
|
19:39
|
|
23:05
|
|
|
Marcia
|
Griffith
|
05
|
.
|
23:21
|
21:33
|
26:39
|
21:42
|
.
|
21:14
|
27:05
|
|
|
|
Carter
|
Hamill
|
05
|
19:30
|
18:57
|
17:34
|
22:10
|
17:52
|
18:58
|
18:21
|
|
21:40
|
21:52
|
|
Jenny
|
Horowitz
|
06
|
21:13
|
22:01
|
19:22
|
24:04
|
19:59
|
20:45
|
20:04
|
|
24:26
|
|
|
Laurel
|
Kilgour
|
03
|
21:25
|
21:38
|
19:24
|
24:46
|
.
|
21:12
|
20:06
|
25:00
|
23:29
|
|
|
Hilary
|
Plum
|
03
|
21:36
|
21:05
|
19:35
|
24:11
|
.
|
20:22
|
20:05
|
|
|
|
|
Ginger
|
Polich
|
06
|
21:01
|
21:50
|
.
|
24:51
|
.
|
.
|
.
|
|
|
|
|
Alison
|
Rodriguez
|
05
|
.
|
.
|
20:51
|
27:43
|
20:48
|
21:51
|
20:40
|
26:32
|
|
|
|
Erinn
|
White
|
04
|
20:21
|
20:49
|
18:37
|
23:43
|
.
|
20:02
|
19:35
|
|
22:56
|
|