Not even 90-degree heat and muggy conditions could slow down the Boston University women’s cross-country team from starting off its title defense on the right foot last Friday at the Franklin Park Invitational.
The defending America East champions, the Terriers, who lost four of their top five runners last season to graduation, swept their events. BU knocked off Harvard University, 19-36, Manhattan College, 17-38, Brown University, 25-32 and Marist College, 16-39.
With four Terrier runners finishing in the top five positions, Lehane said the team “looked good and got off to a good start.”
“This year’s team has the firepower to win, we’re just going to have to fight for it. We don’t have as much in the way of cushion,” said BU coach Bruce Lehane.
Finishing first overall with a time of 17:46, Andrea Walkonen provided some punch to the Terrier lineup.
After losing such an essential chunk of the squad to graduation, Lehane was impressed with the performance of freshman Emma Reid, who finished third overall with a time of 19:05. Senior Ann Wighton, another key component in the Terriers’ chances to repeat as champs, finished fourth with a time of 19:06.
Rounding out the top five was Sarah Mosser, who finished the course with a time of 20:29. Mosser, a track and field runner, looks to acclimate herself this season to longer-distance races, a big change from the shorter distances she’s used to. Katie Weider helped secure the Terriers’ victory with a 19th place finish and a time of 20:29.
And with two runners finishing in the top three, the Terrier men made their presence felt at the invitational but their success barely made a dent in the win column. The Terriers fell to Brown, 25-34 and Marist, 25-32. BU’s lone win came against Manhattan, 23-32, and they drew even with Harvard, 28-28.
Senior David Proctor, coming off of a great track season in which he ran a sub-four minute mile, enters his second competitive cross-country season still looking to make adjustments and improve. In the season debut, Proctor finished second overall in the 8K race with a time of 26:12. Sophomore Eric Ashe finished behind Proctor, posting a time of 26:21.
Rounding out the men’s scoring was Albert Crooker, who finished 15th with a time of 27:42, Ken Haltom, whose time of 28:23 earned him 23rd place, Tom Mclean who finished 36th with a time of 29:17 and Nick Goodman and James Weider, who finished 39th and 40th, respectively, with times of 29:36 and 29:41.
“[Both teams] had good races, but in the cross-country season, we try to look to the later races,” Lehane said. “We’ll take our lumps now [in the early races] in an effort to finish off a championship season — what’s most important is that we run our best races at the end of the season.”
After finishing fourth in the conference last year, Lehane believes the team is set to have a strong season after an impressive spring.
Lehane also commended freshman Ken Haltom’s performance in his Division I debut.
“There’s a big difference between competing at the high school level and competing at the Division I level in college,” Lehane said. “Usually [freshman runners] go through a period of learning, but Ken’s performance was definitely a good start, we expect his performance level only to go up as the season progresses.”
The Terriers next venture to Central Connecticut State University on Saturday for the Ted Owens Invitational.
