Men’s cross country wins Mideast Regional Title to qualify for NCAA Championship
Men’s cross country took first place at the NCAA Div. III Mideast Regional Championships hosted by Westfield State University at Stanley Park in Westfield, Mass. The Ephs accrued just 47 points overall, edging out runner-up Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at 57 points and third-place Middlebury at 72 points. The victory earned the Ephs an automatic bid to the Nov. 18 NCAA Div. III Cross Country National Championship, which will be hosted by Dickinson College in Newville, Pa. and will mark the team’s 17th consecutive appearance at the national race.
The course at Stanley Park featured a flat, fast terrain comprised of grassy and wooded trails with rough footing. Nikhil DeNatale ’26 finished first for the Ephs and second overall, just two seconds behind Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s first-place overall finisher Cory Kennedy. The Ephs packed the top finishers, with co-captain John Lucey ’24 following DeNatale in fourth place, Nate Lentz ’24 in 12th place, Chuckie Namiot ’25 in 13th place, Chris Ratcliffe ’24 in 16th place, Ryan Hardiman ’26 in 22nd place, and Pat Theveny ’24 in 38th place.
For placing within the top 35 finishes, DeNatale, Lucey, Lentz, Namiot, Ratcliffe, and Hardiman earned both All-Regional Honors and All-New England Honors. All of the top five finishers for the Ephs ran their season-best times in the 8k.
Lucey — who has yet to finish outside the top five finishers in any race this season — set the pace, thinning out the pack as the Ephs entered the wooded portion of the trail, according to DeNatale. “I think our team is really good at handling the races when they get tough,” DeNatale wrote to the Record. “John was able to take control of the race and string it out a lot in the woods, and the fast pace he set meant that a lot of people were starting to feel uncomfortable pretty early into the race, which I think worked really well for us.”
Next weekend, the Ephs will race at the NCAA Championship, where they will revisit Dickinson’s course, which they ran at the Pre-Nationals Invitational. “There are a lot of teams who have been running really well this year, and while we’re very confident with our current fitness levels, it’s going to be exciting to see how we compare to all these other teams, and just how well we can place as a team this year,” DeNatale wrote.
Women’s cross country earns first at Mideast Regional, clinches bid to NCAA Championship
Women’s cross country claimed first place at the Mideast Regional Championship with 61 points, beating second-place Amherst with 109 points and third-place Connecticut College with 125 points. The victory landed the Ephs a spot in next weekend’s NCAA Championship, which will mark their third straight appearance in the race and their 32nd appearance in program history.
Co-captain Genna Girard ’24 led the Ephs, facing off with Middlebury’s Audrey MacLean for the first leg of the race, whom Girard had beaten at the NESCAC Championship on Oct. 28.
After the first mile-and-a-half, Girard pulled ahead to finish first overall in 20:40, marking a personal best for Girard and her fourth consecutive individual victory this season, thus maintaining her undefeated season.
“I knew that I would give it my all out there and had to trust that that would be enough to beat her again,” Girard wrote to the Record. “I honestly was shocked at my time when I crossed the line… I felt very relaxed for much of the race and actually didn’t think I would get a [personal record] at all. It’s always a nice feeling, but I think I was more excited about my first- place finish.”
The Ephs landed six top-25 place finishes in the contentious 174-runner field. Girard was followed by Ella Ball ’25 in 11th place. Nora Johnson ’25 climbed 14 spots to secure 14th place, and she was followed closely by Molly FitzGibbons ’24 in 15th place and Morgan Eigel ’27 in 20th place. Tamar Byl-Brann ’27 finished in 22nd after advancing 26 positions in the latter half of the race.
The Ephs worked together to gain control of the field by building speed and overtaking runners as the course progressed, according to Johnson. “Throughout the season, my racing strategy has revolved around starting somewhat conservatively and intensifying the effort in the latter half of races — a plan I was pleased to execute on this course,” Johnson wrote in an email to the Record. “While navigating the woods loop, I found teammates Molly and Morgan, and we worked together to pass runners from other teams… [W]e were all focused on advancing and connecting with the next Eph during the race, pushing the team forward as a whole.”
For finishing within the top 35 positions, Girard, Ball, Johnson, FitzGibbons, Eigel, and Byl-Brann earned All-Region and All-New England honors.
The Ephs will return to Dickinson next weekend to race at the NCAA Championship — a course they ran at the Pre-Nationals Invitational. Looking ahead, the Ephs are excited to leverage their memory of the course and extensive training on the notoriously hilly home course at Mount Greylock to tackle the course’s rolling hills, Johnson wrote.
The variety of experience on the team will also serve the Ephs next weekend, according to Johnson. “On this year’s team, we have four runners with previous national meet experience and another four for whom this is their first national meet, creating a great blend of seasoned expertise and the thrill of new experiences,” Johnson wrote. “I am mostly excited to have a chance to experience the excitement that comes with racing against top-level [Div. III] competition alongside my teammates. During my first year, I attended the meet as a spectator, and the unparalleled enthusiasm and spirit at this event left a lasting impression.”
The sweep at Mideast Regionals builds momentum in a triumphant season thus far: At the NESCAC Championship meet on Oct. 28, cross country swept both team titles and individual finishes for Lucey and Girard, the first time that feat has been achieved in program history. Head Coach Dusty López ’01 expressed pride in both teams, highlighting the depth of the roster.
“We have done very well at the front of races, but that isn’t enough to have a good team,” he wrote. “We’ve had very strong running from our 5-6-7 spots as well, which makes both teams contenders for very strong performances at the national championship.”
Field hockey concedes penalty stroke goal in overtime, falls to Salisbury in NCAA Sweet 16
Field hockey (12-8, 6-4 NESCAC) fell to the Salisbury Sea Gulls (14-5) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 11. After a combative match that stretched into overtime, Salisbury’s Ramsey Coffman converted on a penalty stroke, freezing out the Ephs.
The narrow loss follows a successful season for the Ephs, who finished second in the NESCAC Tournament and made their first appearance in the national tournament since 2006. The Ephs earned an at-large bid to join the national tournament after blanking Worcester State University (13-7) 6-0 at home on Nov. 8. Pilar Torres ’26 and Kiki Higgins ’26 received All-NESCAC First Team Honors, and co-captain Liz Scarcella ’24 received All-NESCAC Second Team Honors.
“There was a lot of pride in the fact we had made it [to the NCAA Tournament] again and had the opportunity to play a new team,” goalkeeper Gates Tenerowicz ’23.5 wrote in an email to the Record. “For the first-years, this was all new; it is so exciting to see the NCAA banners, patches, and the whole atmosphere of the tournament.”
In round two of the national stage, the Ephs outshot the Sea Gulls 10-6 and executed on defense to keep Salisbury scoreless through regulation time. Tenerowicz made four crucial saves throughout the match, including a penalty at the 36:42 mark.
“Salisbury has a very explosive offense and sends a lot of big hits to forwards for fast breaks,” Tenerowicz wrote. “The goal was really to block up these big hits and keep them out of our end… Although we didn’t score, I think our defensive success really reflected a lot of growth from the start of the season.”
Women’s soccer loses 1-0 to Messiah through last-minute goal, ending NCAA bid
No. 13 women’s soccer (10-4-5, 6-2-2 NESCAC) was defeated by the No. 5 Messiah University Falcons (19-2-0) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 12. After 86 minutes of scoreless play, Messiah’s Hannah Adair found the net to send the Falcons to the Sweet Sixteen. The last-minute goal capped a strong season for the Ephs, which included their second consecutive appearance on the national stage and a decisive 2-0 victory in the first round to send home Endicott (13-5-4) on Nov. 11. Jaquelin Nordhoff ’24, Tori Huang ’25 and Paige Nelson ’26 earned All-NESCAC First Team Honors for their performances this season, and Nordhoff was named NESCAC Player of the Year.
The Ephs were powered by their performance against Endicott going into Sunday’s game, head coach Sarah Raymond wrote to the Record. “After an outstanding team performance against Endicott on Saturday, we could fully turn our sights on Messiah and let go of any feelings of nervousness,” she wrote. “We were 100 percent excited to play Messiah on Sunday. We knew the challenge would bring out the best in us and we have a team full of supreme competitors.”
The Ephs kept things scoreless for most of the game, denying the Falcons’ first 11 shots. On offense, the Ephs created opportunities in the second half to shift the momentum briefly, but they could not capitalize on the opportunities. Although the Ephs fought to stage a comeback after the goal in the 86th minute, the Falcons held the Ephs to run out the clock.
Raymond expressed pride in the Ephs’ consistent performance throughout the game. “We competed for every minute, we were knocked down, hit late, had to defend in incredible ways, but we never stopped working, we never stopped supporting from the side, and we never stopped believing in ourselves,” Raymond wrote.
To co-captain Shae Rashoff ’24, the loss demonstrated the grit that characterized the Ephs’ postseason run, which saw the Ephs through a pair of overtime games decided by penalty shootouts. “Obviously it was tough to lose and have our season end, but we’re all really proud of the way we fought in that final game and throughout the season,” Rashoff wrote in an email to the Record.
Raymond emphasized the abrupt end to the season. “When you strive for greatness and put yourself out there, you also run the risk of failing and incredible disappointment,” she wrote. “We felt that on Sunday, and it was an emotional ending. We are sad, not just for the outcome of the game, but more for knowing that the time that this special group of people spends together in the soccer arena has come to an end. That is the hardest part about the end of the season.”
Still, Rashoff expressed pride in the team’s efforts this season. “The team has such a bright future, and the improvement that I’ve seen at a team level has been super clear in my four years here, so I can’t wait to watch the team play next year,” Rashoff wrote.
