BENNINGTON, Vt. – The Southern Vermont College men's and women's cross country teams are set to compete in Saturday's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) championships with one team vying for its third-straight league title while the other will push to get itself up on the podium.
Every training session, workout and regular season meet this year has led up to-- and prepared the Mountaineers for-- the most important races of the year. Those 8000 and 5000 meter competitions will take place at Stanley Park in Westfield, Massachusetts, that site holding the two championships for the fourth-straight year.
The SVC men's team has captured each of the last two NECC crowns, looking to be the second Southern Vermont athletics program to post a conference three-peat (women's volleyball, NECC: 2011-13). The women's side looks to improve upon its fourth-place team finish from last year's championship-- that result tying the program's best-ever placement in the NECC.
"Heading into our Conference meet, I feel very confident in both the men's and women's teams," said SVC fourth-year head coach Kathleen Newton. "Across the board, they have had improvements over the fall season. I know their best races are yet to come, so we are all excited and ready to go. It's a great group, and they are training hard; their effort will reflect the team's performance."
The SVC men's crew brings back four runners who were part of the 2015 title-winning team, among those being junior captain Marc Brandmeyer (Bennington, Vt.) who has taken the NECC Runner of the Year honor at each of the last two Conference championships. He did so last year with a time of 26:19, that being the fastest an NECC harrier has ever put up at the league's title meet. Brandmeyer has garnered the NECC Runner of the Week award four times this season, being joined in collecting that honor by sophomore teammate Stephen McCall (Brockton, Mass.) who has picked it up twice.
Additionally, freshmen Davante Smith (Ellenville, N.Y.) and Bailey Hamilton (Londonderry, N.H.) look to have strong performances in their first championship appearances. Smith has earned the NECC Rookie of the Week accolade four times this season while Hamilton won the first two of the year. Senior captain Corey Barcomb (Burlington, Vt.) will also be pushing to cap his collegiate career with valuable team points as he has placed in SVC's top five in five out of the Mountaineers' six races this year.
"I think there is always pressure when you are expected to repeat a win," Newton commented about the guys' mentality on trying to defend their title. "We talk and never take anything for granted; they are ready physically and mentally for their best races yet. They really work together and push one another to do their best. They have confidence in each other and know it's a team effort."
The Southern Vermont women's team will have a slew of experience at this year's championship as the Mountaineers have five seniors and two juniors who will all be in a good position to help SVC make a move for the crown. Among those is senior captain Shelby Whitman (Bennington, Vt.) who finished second at last year's Conference meet and first at the 2014 race. Bennington College junior Annika Kristiansen (Keene, N.H.) has led Southern Vermont in five of the team's six races this year and will look to top her third-place finish at last year's championship; she was bestowed with a pair of NECC Runner of the Week honors during the 2016 campaign.
Senior rookie Jordan Welch (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), who has garnered the NECC Rookie of the Week twice in 2016, will look to have a big impact on the Mountaineers' team score while senior Skye McGuire (Mechanicville, N.Y.), a three-time All-NECC honoree, is also set to help the squad with important team points. Additional Bennington junior Isabella Poulos (Milwaukee, Wis.) finished first for SVC once this year and is an another runner likely to make a huge effect at Stanley Park for Southern Vermont.
"We have a great group," Newton said of her women's side. "They continue to improve, with many runners making huge personal bests from last season. We have a strong group of seniors that are raising the bar for everyone and want to have a big improvement from last year's Conference meet. It was a tight race last year with only one point being the difference between third and fourth place in the team results. They are ready and have had some great workouts. The women's team is feeling strong and ready to race!"
Both Mountaineer squads should be well rested heading into Saturday, taking last Saturday off from competition to recover and continue preparations for the title meet. However, the two teams might be as physically prepared as possible at this point-- and just need to take care of the mind game.
"The biggest factor for both teams during the race is to remain mentally tough throughout it," Newton commented. "Every athlete that is pushing themselves during a race experiences pain and discomfort. Knowing how to control that is the key; they all have the mental capability to do so. Trusting in their training, themselves and their team-- while staying strong, brave and positive-- is key. If they can do that, the outcome will be astounding."
The women's 5k will start the morning at Stanley Park with the runners taking off at 10 a.m., and the men's 8k will then follow at 11 a.m.
– #LetsGoSVC –