Harriers open season at Amherst Invitational, women place third

September 8, 2007

AMHERST, MA- The Wheaton College women's cross country team finished third out of eight teams at the season-opening Amherst College Invitational on Saturday, while the Lyon men placed seventh. The Blue and White women notched 101 points to finish 16 behind Springfield College, while Amherst won with 20. In the seven-team men's field, Wheaton recorded 182 points, and the Lord Jeffs took the title with 18 points.

Wheaton and Springfield were the only teams from the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) to send teams to Amherst, with only the Pride women competing, as the rest of the field was filled out by the Lord Jeffs and teams from the Division II Northeast-10 Conference.

A trio of returners led Wheaton's women, while newcomers held down the next three spots. Juniors Amanda Rawson (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) and Lauren Reddy (Walnut Creek, CA/Carondelet) placed ninth and 11th, respectively, as Rawson finished in 20:39 and Reddy in 21:09.

Sophomore Katie Pratt (Litchfield, CT/Litchfield) was next for the Blue and White, coming in 28th, before freshman Erin Jaske (Highlands Ranch, CO/Rock Canyon) finished 39th. Sophomore Sarah Brand (Cincinnati, OH/Seven Hills School) was 41st in her first race for Wheaton, while freshman Ariel Perry (Sweden, ME/Fryeburg Academy) and senior Jessie Buonaccorsi (Shutesbury, MA/Amherst Regional) took 48th and 49th, respectively.

On the men's side, Wheaton's top four finishers were each freshmen. Nick Kacher (Waltham, MA/Waltham) had the Lyons' top time of 17:58 during a 36th-place finish, followed by Natan Levy (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Pine Crest School) in 48th, Brandon Waltz (South Thomaston, ME/Rockland District) in 50th and Colin Fahey (Waltham, MA/Weston) in 58th.

Both of Wheaton's teams are back on the trail next Saturday at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth Invitational.

Men's Team Results: (1) Amherst 18, (2) UMass-Lowell 62, (3) Bryant 97, (4) Merrimack 108, (5) Assumption 113, (6) Saint Anselm 155, (7) Wheaton 182

Wheaton Individual Results: (36) Nick Kacher 17:58, (48) Natan Levy 18:51, (50) Brandon Waltz 19:04, (58) Colin Fahey 19:26, (64) Scott Hafferkamp 19:59, (71) Dan Libon 22:13, (72) Jonah Zimet 24:21

Women's Team Results: (1) Amherst 20, (2) Springfield 85, (3) Wheaton 101, (4) Merrimack 119, (5) Bryant 139, (6) Saint Anselm 147, (7) Assumption 156, (8) UMass-Lowell 161

Wheaton Individual Results: (9) Amanda Rawson 20:39, (11) Lauren Reddy 21:09, (28) Katie Pratt 22:28, (39) Erin Jaske 23:02, (41) Sarah Brand 23:21, (48) Ariel Perry 23:46, (49) Jessie Buonaccorsi 23:54, (62) Christina Nelson 24:33

Complete Results

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