WILLIAMSTOWN, MA — The men’s cross country team hosted their first meet of the season on Saturday, consisting of both 8000-meter and 5000-meter men’s races at their Mount Greylock High School course. The level of competition this year was much higher in the past, with teams such as NYU and Dartmouth contributing excellent squads.

The meet also serves as the Williams Aluminum Bowl alumni race, with the field spread out between the 8k and 5k.

In the overall team standings the Ephmen took third place behind NYU’s 46 points and Southern Connecticut’s 47, but the meet provided a successful introduction to the difficult 5-mile race that will be contested at all of the season’s major championships. On the individual side last year’s NCAA Div. III Cross Country champion Neal Holtschulte ’06 took home the first place title in a time of 25:34, with Stephen Wills ’07 finishing tops among current Ephs in 8th place.

Although the race conditions certainly could have been better, with a drizzle falling consistently throughout the morning and all three races, the moisture turned the affair into a true cross country meet. The teams competed on a slightly altered course to accommodate the larger field and wet weather, and the gun went off at 12 o’clock sharp to send the harriers sprinting towards a baseball field loop.

Head Coach Pete Farwell had given the men these instructions before the race: “Get out fast for the first 100 meters, then settle back in until the 5k mark. After that if you’re feeling good make a push for the finish.” The Ephs ran smart and according to plan, with several large packs forming up as they looped around the woods past the one and two mile marks.

The usual Eph standouts of Brendan Christian ’09, Corey Levin ’08, Colin Carroll ’07, and Wills got out at the front of the pack, while Chris Ellis-Ferrara ’07, Andy Stevenson ’07, and Steve Van Wert ’09 began to move up. The sloppy, muddy course forced many of the competitors to take sharp turns and hills at a slow pace, along with leaving their bodies and uniforms covered in dirt.

The end of the course afforded a good opportunity for a building kick, with a long flat section for the last half mile of the course. Wills took advantage of the finish in grabbing 8th place, while Christian, Levin, and Carroll sprinted home in 21st, 23rd, and 24th respectively. Ellis Ferrara closed out the scoring as the Ephs’ fifth man, securing their third place team finish, while Van Wert rallied over the last 200 to place 35th overall, and Stevenson raced across the line in 38th.

Further back in the pack numerous Ephs made huge improvements over last season’s performances, especially the duo of Aaron Schwartz ’09 and Ben Swimm ’09.

Some of the men, including all of the first-years, contested a 5k race, running alongside many alumni and members of the women’s team. The Eph first years once again showed their strength by securing four of the top five spots in the race. Connor Kamm ’10 pulled out the victory in 16:32, with Jeff Perlis ’10 second in 16:43, Matt Deady ’10 fourth in 16:48, and Jeff Stenzel ’10 fifth in 16:58.

The Ephmen have no race next weekend, but in two weeks they will travel to Boston for the New England Championships, the first major meet of the 2006 season. The weekend after that they will host the Plansky Invitational, once again on their Mount Greylock High School course.

Men’s 8k Individual Results
1. Holtschulte (alum) 25:34
2. Croft (S. Conn) :49
3. Cebula (S. Conn) :49
4. Williams (NYU) :52
5. Edwards (S. Conn) :57
6. Phillips (NYU) 26:01
7. Butcher (Mid) :04
8. Wills (Wms) :08
9. Wood (unattach) :15
10. McCarthy (NYU) :24
11. Lopez (alum) :27
12. Schneider (NYU) :38
13. Iyer (Dart) :40
14. Michrane (NYU) :44
15. Curly (S. Conn) :45
16. Treadway (Dart) :46
17. Dulong (NYU) :55
18. Griffin (Spg) :58
19. Brissett (Dart) :58
20. Joynt (NYU) :59
21. Christian (Wms) :59
22. Critelli (S. Conn) 27:05
23. Levin (Wms) :07
24. Carroll (Wms) :07
25. McDonough (Mid) :12
26. Walsh (S. Conn) :13
27. Han (Dart) :14
28. McGraw (NYU) :22
29. Ellis-Ferrara (Wms) :28
30. Free (Mid) :28
31. Hallett (Mid) :29
32. Wambach (Mid) :31
33. Carlson (S. Conn) :32
34. Font (Dart) :44
35. VanWert (Wms) :45
36. Lyon (Dart) :46
37. Ryan (NYU) :47
38. Stevenson (Wms) :48
39. Hess (NYU) :51
40. Mommsen (Mid) :52
41. Gann (Spg) :53
42. Murphy (Mid) :55
43. Udelsman (Wms) :55
44. Waters (Mid) :56
45. Schwartz (Wms) :59
46. Zablocki (Dart) 28:00
47. Poterza (Spg) :00
48. McGregor (S. Conn) :02
49. Ference (Wms) :05
50. Johnson (Mid) :05
51. Clayton (Wms) :06
52. Panzer (Mid) :17
53. Kane (Wms) :17
54. Kaufman (Mid) :17
55. Swimm (Wms) :23
56. Oubre (Wms) :29
57. Hyland (Wms) :32
58. Bartlett (Spg) :35
59. Johnson (Mid) :37
60. Ruoss (Mid) :39
61. McMaher (Spg) :40
62. Palmison (Spg) :42
63. ? :45
64. Wang (Green Mtn) :48
65. Saunders (Vassar) :49
66 Shail (S. Conn) :50
67. Lucero (Vassar) :50
68. Pelliccia (Mid) :54
69. Wright (Spg) :55
70. Decrescenzo (Spg) 29:11
71. Schmegel (Wms) :18
72. Dignum (Mid) :22
73. Utas (Vassar) :28
74. Ferraro (Spg) :36
75. Griggs (Mid) :39
76. Strait (Wms) :43
77. Freiden (Mid) :57
78. DeVaney (Spg) :59
79. Lampion (Vassar) 30:09
80. Anderson (Vassar) :10
81. Korsh (Mid) :13
82. Hinman (Dutchess) :22
83. Gawlak (Spg) :48
84. Nacsin (Spg) :56
85. Moran (MCLA) 31:08
86. Ortoann (Union) :18
87. Klein (alum) :20
88. Freeman (Spg) :42
89. Locascio (Spg) :46
90. Dowse (alum) :46
91. Curelop (MCLA) 32:00
92. Kolesar (Wms) :22
93. Brickley (?) :37
94. Hussey (MCLA) :49
95. Roth (Dutchess) 33:12
96. Gorski (Union) :19
97. Pereira (S. Conn) :35
98. Lynch (Dutchess) :41
99. Fagin (Union) :43
100. Warren (MCLA) :47
101. Bangert (Dutchess) 34:10
102. Martin (Union) :16
103. Bourgeois (MCLA) :34
104. Vuksanovic (Green Mtn) :46
105. Rockey (Green Mtn) 36:07
106. Hermann (MCLA) :10
107. d’Otreppe (Union) :21
108. Atkins (Dutchess) :29
109. Boger (Green Mtn) :36

8K Team Scores
1. NYU 46
2. S. Connecticut 47
3. Williams 105
4. Dartmouth 109
5. Middlebury 125
6. Springfield 225
7. Vassar 364
8. MCLA 473
9. Dutchess CC 484
10. Union 490
Green Mountain Inc

Men’s 5k Individual Results
1. Kamm (Wms) 16:32
2. Perlis (Wms) :46
3. McAuley (NYU) :46
4. Deady (Wms) :48
5. Stenzel (Wms) :58
6. Marter (NYU) 17:05
7. Chaffee (Wms) :14
8. Lee (NYU) :18
9. Steve Jackson (Wms) :23
10. Nelson (NYU) 17:25
11. Peck (S. Conn) :29
12. Sam Jackson (Wms):33
13. Pretak (S. Conn) :33
14. Kosgey (Wms) :34
15. Roberts (Wms) :35
16. Jamil (Vassar) :39
17. Larson (Unatt) :41
18. McDevitt (NYU) :48
19. Brickley (Wms) :52
20. Burgess (Wms) :52
21. Blackshear (Wms) 18:00
22. Gura (Wms) :03
23. Mosley (S. Conn) :08
24. Karpoff (alum) :23
25. Beeler (Wms) :28
26. Garvin (alum) :28
27. Dessalet (NYU) :31
28. Guillaumin (Wms) :33
29. Palmer (S. Conn) :34
30. Simonson (Wms) :38
31. Gray (unatt) :38
32. Nelson (Wms) :38
33. Hall (Wms) :39
34. Withers (Wms) :39
35. Smythe (Wms) :45
36. Rogawski (Wms) :44
37. Brady (alum) :46
38. Lewis (Vassar) :48
39. Golub (Wms) :53
40. McGee (Vassar) :59
41. Cox-Chapman 19:02
42. Furr (unatt) :02
43. Hannon (alum) :10
44. Sizemore (S. Conn) :10
45. Violette (S. Conn) :13
46. McLean (S. Conn) :14
47. Szelazek (NYU) :17
48. Copelas (Wms) :21
49. Liebowitz (Vassar) :32
50. Furlong (Wms) :55
51. (alum) :55
52. Winkler (alum) :56
53. (alum) 20:01
54. Burns (alum) :03
55. Martel (Wms) :17
56. Nunns (Wms) :24
57. Hangen (alum) :35
58. Jack (Union) :42
59. (alum) :42
60. (alum) :45
61. (alum) 21:00
62. (alum) :01
63. Du (Wms) :07
64. Lane (alum) :14
65. Sandel (alum) :16
66. (alum) :21
67. Lorenz (Wms) :31
68. Wu (alum) :31
69. (alum) :40
70. Ausern (?) :58
71. Henry (S. Conn) 22:39
72. Comer (alum) 23:02
73. O’Brien (alum) :24
74. Bennard (S. Conn) :27
75. T. Hangen (13) :32
76. Austin (alum) 24:23
77. Hangen (11) :52
78. Johnson (unatt) 27:39
79. Hangen (9) 30:55
80. Pennell (alum ‘43)

5K Team Scores
1. Williams 19
2. NYU 45
3. S. Connecticut 120
4. Williams Alumni 172