CROSS COUNTRY NOTEBOOK
The University of Vermont cross country teams are set to compete in the 2021 America East Championship meet on Friday (March 5). The event will be hosted at the Seaview Golf Club in Galloway, New Jersey. The men's 8k race will begin at 2:30 p.m. followed by the women's 6k race at 3:30 p.m.
 
RELATED LINKS
Championship Central: Live Results | Course Map
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"First and foremost, we are grateful for the opportunity to be competing in these championship races," said head coach Matt Belfield. "We're certainly here to race at the highest level possible, but I'm just so pleased that our men and women are again able to test themselves against the entire membership of the America East. We expect to have some top-level performances and Joe Gingras and I know we can count on focused and relentless efforts by each runner toeing the line tomorrow."
 
THE CHAMPIONSHIP SQUAD
The men's team will feature six seniors, two juniors, and two sophomores. The seniors include Ian Denis, Ross Elkort, Kasey Gelfand, Chris Gish, Matt Hynes, and Tyler Marshall. The pair of juniors are Owen Amsden and Steven O'Driscoll. The two sophomores are Andrew Crompton and Ben Keegan.
 
The women's squad will have a balanced mix of upperclassmen and lowerclassmen with four seniors, one junior, three sophomores, and two freshmen. The seniors consist of Meara Heininger, Shannon Lustiber, Annemarie Martell, and Caroline O'Shea. Junior Savanah Tebeau-Sherry will be joined by sophomores Meaghan Alba, Ellie Churchill, Andie Cornish, and freshmen Lily Porth and Megan Quade.
 
SUCCESS AT LAST YEAR'S CHAMPIONSHIP MEET
In the 2019 America East Championship, UVM recorded its highest finish in a conference championship meet of the 2000s. The women's second-place finish was their highest since 1999 and the men claimed third place – their best finish since the 1992 season. Martell and Alba earned Second Team All-Conference honors.
 
QUAD MEET RECAP
The men's team opened the 2021 spring season with a second-place finish as a part of a home quad meet with UAlbany, Binghamton, and Hartford on February 21. Chris Gish was the Cats' top racer in fifth place at 23:27.90. Matt Hynes was three seconds behind Gish in sixth place at 23:40.30. Andrew Crompton claimed a top-10 finish in ninth place at 24:04.70. On the team leaderboard, the Catamounts had a combined time of 1:58:17.90 for 44 points. Binghamton ran slightly faster for an event-best time of 23:26.10 with 17 points. In the women's race, Martell placed third among NCAA qualified racers at 17:27.10 and Tebeau-Sherry crossed the line in 16th place at 19:04.10.
 
SCOUTING THE FIELD
Nine additional teams represent the full America East field as Vermont has its sights on New Hampshire and Stony Brook this weekend. New Hampshire women and Stony Brook men are defending conference champions. UNH has won six of the last seven team titles and the Seawolves taking six of the last seven men's crowns.