In the wake of a rainy day, the Keene State 2023 Cross Country Invitational took place for both men’s and women’s cross country teams on Saturday, Sept. 30.
Keene State took home third place for the women’s team 5k and 12th for the men’s 8k. Throughout the majority of the race, the runners from the Keene State women’s team ran in a pack consistently making up a good chunk of the leading runners. The fastest runner for the women’s team ended up being senior Margaret St. with a fifth-place finish. She ran a 18:48.7 5k time, with only five seconds between her and the first-place runner Ella Whinney, a sophomore from Wellesley College. St. John ran almost a minute faster than her team’s average of 19:43.0. While her performance was a critical piece to the team’s success, three of her teammates placed in the top 25, which put them in the top 14% of the 183 runners who competed; junior Aurora Couto at 14th, junior Sarah Ames at 19th and sophomore Anna
O’Reilly at 21st all posted sub 20 minute times. The final runner for Keene to contribute to the team placing was Alana Perry, who placed 51st with a time of 20:42.2.
The men’s race proved to be a lot less competitive than women’s, with 28 seconds separating first and second place and 45 seconds separating first and fifth. This performance was from senior Michael Olson of Plymouth State, who posted a time of 25:04.1. Plymouth placed first in the race.
While not achieving the level of success that the women’s team did, the men’s performances shouldn’t be overlooked. The men’s team placed 12th out of 23 teams. The five runners contributed to the team’s cumulative placing all placed in the top 80 out of the 232 runners. Those five were first-year Griffin Urnezis at 36th, junior Martin Nelligan at 43rd, first-year Tyler Bolaske at 69th, junior Ben Harley at 75th and first-year Nathan Giordano at 79th; all whom were met by cheering fans as they crossed the finish line.
According to localconditions. com, the race route saw over half an inch of rain the day before, making the track quite muddy.
According to both Earth Networks and Live Science, running on wet terrain adds a multitude of additional challenges including, but not limited to, increased energy expenditure leading to exhaustion, increased risk of slipping and a higher likelihood of foot problems, such as blistering and cramping. The worst-case scenario is a sprained ankle, which becomes more likely on wet surfaces due to decrease in traction, making turning and changing speed more difficult.
Harvie Marcotti can be contacted at
hmarcotti@kscequinox.com
