Washington University women’s and men’s cross country teams rounded out the regular season with an impressive showing at the Oshkosh Invitational this past weekend at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The women continued to impress, placing fourth, while the men held strong with a 12th-place finish.
The No. 26 women’s team faced 30 different schools at the largest meet in University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh history. Sophomore Taryn Surtees, freshman Elizabeth Phillips, junior Hope Rathnam, junior Molly Schlamb and graduate student Angela Hartman all placed in the top 50. Surtees and Phillips were the two top runners for the Bears this weekend, placing 10th and 21st with times of 21:44.10 and 22:30.12, respectively.
“With our team finally healthy and the intensity of our workouts increasing, we are very optimistic about the championship season and the things this team can accomplish,” Surtees said.
The Lady Bears placed fourth behind Calvin University, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and University of Minnesota-Duluth. The women finished their season with an average time of 22:35 for a 6K race.
“A lot of people will have to step it up another level, but I am confident that we have the motivation and determination to make it happen. Once it’s all there, I think that we can be very successful at the UAA Championships,” senior Hillary Superak said.
The men put up impressive numbers, facing more than 32 schools. Senior Dave Spandorfer, Kwin Keuter and Kyle Short put up the top three times for the Bears, placing 40th, 65th and 73rd, with times of 25:10, 25:40 and 25:46, respectively. The men, competing in the 8K race, completed the season with an average time of 25:43 on their last race.
“Though we didn’t do as well as we had hoped coming in, guys are just starting to come on strong now, when it matters… We’re excited to see what we can do. Now it’s just a matter of putting it all together,” Spandorfer said.
“We are just now getting into the serious parts of season, and we have people coming back from injuries,” freshman Tucker Hartley said.
The team next races at the University Athletic Association Championship, which will be hosted by Emory University on Nov. 1 at 11 a.m.
“Our whole season has been centered on the upcoming championship meets. Our runs, our training and even our races have been focused on doing well in November, not September or October,” Spandorfer said. “With the great past few months that we’ve put in and the talent that we have, I’m positive that we can do extremely well both at the UAA championships and at the regional meets.
