Meet Results

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (October 24, 2009) -- On one of the rainiest days in recent memory, the Vassar men's cross country team took on the field at the perennial favorite 8k Saratoga Invitational. Despite cold temperatures and standing water on the course, the Brewers persevered to a 5th place finish of 13 teams. Vassar was led by junior Jon Erickson, who placed 10th overall, mixing it up with scoring runners from ranked teams in the Atlantic and New England regions. 

Erickson and freshman Sam Wagner challenged from the start, maintaining contact with the leaders through the first mile. Erickson maintained cadence through the rolling hills, on his way to a 26:21 finish in the 8K race, good enough for his fourth top ten finish of the season. 

Wagner also turned in a steady effort, placing 26th overall in 27:10, while leading a solid pack of four Vassar finishers. Close behind was sophomore Zach Williams, closing fast to finish in 28th place, with a time of 27:14. Pushing the pack for most of the race with an excellent effort was sophomore Justin Rupert, who placed 32nd in 27:22. Rounding out Vassar's scoring five was freshman Yaron Teich, who placed 34th in 27:28. 

Rounding out Vassar's top seven were sophomore Will Healy and senior Danny McBee, who finished in 50th and 52nd, respectively, with times of 28:07 and 28:16. 

Other Vassar runners with strong performances on the day were senior Dan Liebowitz, who finished 55th in 28:27, and sophomore Matt Blair, who came across in 59th place, with a time of 28:36. Freshman Chris Lloyd also had a gutsy race, pushing himself hard through three miles before settling in to a 64th place finish in 28:41. 

Head Coach James McCowan put the men's performance into perspective. “For the men's finishing fifth, this is the second fastest cumulative time we've seen in 20 years. Today we owe a lot of our performance to Justin (Rupert). He set the tone early, as our number two runner at the one mile mark. He had a pack of some of our strongest runners really focused on him, and it was great to see him step up and lead. Chris Lloyd also went for it from the start, which took some guts and bravery. In terms of the team performance, this course is more difficult than Albany, so the times were a bit slower, but as a unit, I think it set us up well for the coming weeks.” 

Also competing for the Brewers were senior Ges Adams (70th, 29:05), sophomore Evan Russek (78th, 29:22), senior Ali Jamil (97th, 29:57), freshman Danny Basch (101st, 30:06), sophomore David Reuss (120th, 31:29), sophomore Zach Zeilman (124th, 31:37 and freshman Rafael Ricaurte (133rd, 32:20). 

The Brewers will return to Saratoga next Saturday, October 31, for the RPI invitational.