The NCAA’s Atlantic Regional Invitational was held this past Saturday at the University of Rochester at Genesee Valley Park in Rochester, N.Y. All season, Rensselaer had been working hard in preparation for fulfilling a season-long goal of making big improvements on last year’s performance. Each runner’s hard work and dedication paid off as the men’s team came in 10th place out of 32 competing teams and the women placed 14th out of 28 teams. The team winner for the men’s 8K race was the College of New Jersey, and the women’s team 6K champion was SUNY Geneseo.
Distance Coach Andrew Weishaar was very pleased with how his athletes competed this weekend. When questioned about the race, Weishaar commented that he was also happy because, “As a combined team, the men’s and women’s teams at Rensselaer made the biggest improvements of any Atlantic Region team.” The men’s 10th place finish in 2005 was a substantial step up from their 17th place in 2004. Going from 19th place in 2004 to 14th place in 2005, the women also saw impressive improvement. Weishaar also commented on the season as a whole: “Though we had our fair share of bumps and bruises this year, both teams transitioned very well to the training, and all the members should be very proud of their accomplishments as individuals and as a team.”
Some teams have one or two superstars that they have to rely on in every race. Rensselaer’s forte is having a great depth. This allows them to place seven healthy and talented runners on the line each race. On Saturday, freshman Amit Patel kept his composure during a big race despite being relatively inexperienced in collegiate racing. Patel’s poise paid its dividends when he crossed the finish line in 42nd place out of the 231 competitors. With a time of 26:50 for 8K, Patel was the first Red Hawk across the finish line. Patel was the fifth among competing Liberty League runners, and was the first freshman from the conference to finish. Patel was honored as Liberty League Rookie of the Week for his performance.
Freshman Bryan Murphy is another athlete who has had an exceptional season. Murphy was Rensselaer’s number one runner on a number of occasions. He also was the first freshman finisher at the Liberty League Championships earlier in the season. Towards the end of the season, Murphy faced an injury which did not allow him to perform at full capacity. Despite being injured, the league named Murphy as their male Rookie of the Year.
Freshman Cathy Malloy was a big contributor to the women’s team’s success on Saturday. Malloy was not only the first Red Hawk to cross the line, but also the first female athlete from the Liberty League to finish the race. Covering the 6K course in 23:10, Malloy placed 20th out of 207 competitors. Malloy was named to the All-Atlantic Region team based on her performance Saturday. This week, the Liberty League named Malloy as their Performer of the Week and their Rookie of the Year.
After having a successful season, the cross country teams are going to rest and recover for approximately two weeks before beginning to train for the track season. Time away from competition will give the athletes a chance to catch up with schoolwork and prepare for finals.
