SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – With the help of a third-place finish by senior Herson Canta (Lagunitas, California), the Southern Vermont College men's cross country team tied for a second-place team finish Saturday at the Western New England University Golden Bear Invitational.
The Mountaineers tied Colby-Sawyer College with 93 points apiece, continuing a season-long rivalry between the two squads; CSC edged Southern Vermont for first overall at the Castleton State College Invitational on September 7 before SVC beat out the Chargers by two team placements at the September 20 Middlebury College Invite. Colby-Sawyer saw three runners place in the top four Saturday, but the Mountaineer's fourth and fifth finishers were in the top 40 while CSC's final two placements came through afterward to even things out.
Canta finished with a time of 26:50 on the 8000 meter course, being followed by sophomore Justin Ferguson (Broadalbin, New York) who finished seventh at 27:08. Freshman Marc Brandmeyer (Bennington, Vermont) climbed from sixth to fourth on the all-time SVC record list with a personal-best mark of 27:27, 24 seconds faster than his previous record for 11th place at the Golden Bear.
Classmate and brother Andrew Brandmeyer (Bennington, Vermont) followed Marc for the Mountaineers at 29:06 while sophomore Corey Barcomb (Burlington, Vermont) rounded out the team's top five with a 29:23 showing.
CSC senior captain Hayden Brunnell (Barnet, Vermont) captured the individual championship title, beating all other participants with a time of 26:35. Roger Williams University won the overall team crown with all five of its placing runners finishing in the top 15.
SVC beat out Elms College, the only other New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) team in the 18-squad field.
Southern Vermont will take next weekend off, giving the team a little more recovery time in preparation for the NECC Championship taking place on Saturday, November 1 at Stanley Park in Westfield, Massachusetts.
Southern Vermont College
3rd – Herson Canta (26:50)
7th – Justin Ferguson (27:08)
11th – Marc Brandmeyer (27:27) PR
35th – Andrew Brandmeyer (29:06)
43rd – Corey Barcomb (29:23)
52nd – Cameron Michael Curtiss (29:38)
68th – Victor Velazquez (30:03)
80th – Hesbon Ogeka (30:24)
110th – Kenny Poteat (31:41)
147th – Aden Fischer (34:00)
169th – Patrick O'Toole (36:55)