MANCHESTER, CONN- The Cross Country team placed 6th out of 11 teams in this Sunday's NESCAC Championships, hosted by Trinity at Wickham Park. After experiencing mid-season setbacks due to H1N1 and other factors, it was a big step in the right direction for the team. Devin Dilts finished first for the team 26:47, good for 11th place and all conference honors. Tom Esponette had one of the outstanding performances of the day, finishing second for the team with 19th place in 27:21. Dilts and Esponette made the race exciting by making assertive statements early in the race and holding on for impressive finishes.

Behind Esponette was Doug Brecher, who in his first race in over a month managed to place 44th in 27:58. Unfortunately, though to the amusement of some, Brecher thought he was finishing when he ran past the finish chute in the fourth mile, and after putting on an impressive mid-race surge, was faced with another mile and a half. While perhaps not funny at the time, the incident is in the past now, and it is evident that if he avoids similar mishaps in the future Brecher can make even more impact for the team in the remainder of the postseason. Sean Colligan had an impressive race, finishing fourth for the team and placing 48th in 28:01 in his first race back from illness. Ryan Rice was next for the team, finishing 62nd in 28:17. Rice fared well despite some Quadricep pain prior to the race. Next were Andrew Wortham and Eric Kimball in 68th (28:28), and 69th (28:29), followed by another duo, Griff Stabler and Graham Pearsall, who finished 75th (28:46) and 76th (28:47). All four were reasonably solid performances.

Complete Results