The Binghamton University men’s cross country team displayed its depth this past Saturday, competing in two meets on the same day. The top seven BU runners placed 20th out of 35 teams in the NCAA Pre-National Meet hosted by Indiana University, while their teammates came in fourth in a field of 25 teams at the Albany Invitational. The BU women’s cross country team had a strong showing in Albany as well, finishing in fifth place.
‘The Pre-National Meet was a better performance overall than Lehigh,’ BU head coach Annette Acuff said. ‘I thought we handled the competitiveness of the field really well.’
For the men’s team, senior Erik van Ingen finished 27th in the men’s 8,000-meter race with a time of 24:13. According to van Ingen, experience is valuable on the difficult course. Though he ran the course at the National Meet last year, he said it was not sufficient experience to make a difference in his race.
‘Conditions were perfect ‘ course was fast and dry,’ van Ingen said. ‘I got out with the leaders and held my ground for two miles. Between kilometers three and six, I fell off pretty badly. I got over my head in the beginning.’
‘Erik competed through this meet in preparation for the conference championship and regionals,’ Acuff said. ‘He wasn’t fresh. I think he could have been top 15 on a perfect day.’
According to Acuff, the whole team trained through the Pre-National Meet and was tired entering the race. She said the team did not have its best performance, but she valued what the meet meant for the runners going into the more important meets.
‘The performance was alright ‘ it was respectable,’ she said. ‘We raced the No. 1 team in the country. We raced teams like William and Mary and North Carolina. We beat Nebraska and Michigan. It’s pretty cool to see Binghamton’s name in the top 20 with that competition.’
Acuff said that experience at the high-profile meet will make regionals look simpler and give the team confidence going into later meets.
Graduate student Chris Gaube finished second for BU and 96th overall with a time of 24:53. Sophomore Jeff Martinez and senior Adam Quinn finished third and fourth for the Bearcats, respectively, with times of 25:07 and 25:10. Senior Casey Quaglia rounded out the top five with a time of 25:58.
‘It was nice having all the guys there competing with me,’ van Ingen said. ‘It’s a lot easier having people there before the race. You relax more, and the experience is just more enjoyable.’
At the Albany Invitational, sophomore Vasili Papastrat finished eighth overall in the men’s 8,000-meter race with a time of 25:33.
‘Vasili had a great race,’ Acuff said. ‘He has been consistent. He has a shot at being in the top seven this year.’
Junior Tyler Stachecki finished 29th overall with a time of 26:06, and sophomore Jason Santos placed 38th with a time of 26:21. Sophomores Anthony Gaetani and Brendan Connell rounded out BU’s top five with times of 26:23 and 26:39, respectively.
For the women’s team, sophomore Lindsay Raulli finished 13th overall in the women’s 5,000-meter race with a time of 18:27. Sophomore Rachel Miura finished in 25th overall with a time of 18:42, and freshman Caitlin Jelinek placed 27th with a time of 18:46.
‘It was our best race this year,’ Acuff said. ‘Caitlin was outstanding for a freshman. Lindsay and Rachel were solid.’
Freshman Kelly Abbate and senior Alicia Finger rounded out the top five with times of 19:01 and 19:25, respectively.
‘Our freshmen top five have been doing really well,’ Acuff said. ‘We’re a young team. Our sophomores have improved upon their freshman years, and our freshmen are adjusting to running at this level.’
The Binghamton cross country team’s next meet is the America East Championship at Boston University, held on Oct. 30. The men’s team will look to defend its title from a year ago.
‘Our intentions are cut-and-dry. I want to defend my title and we want to defend our team title,’ van Ingen said.
‘We want to win,’ Acuff said. ‘We should win. I think we’re definitely the best team. We just want to make sure guys don’t underestimate anybody in the conference.’
She has high hopes for the women’s team as well.
‘As for the girls, I want everybody running to their full potential. We want to improve our standing from where we were last year.’