James Condon ‘30
Staff Writer
This Saturday, the Men’s & Women’s Cross Country Team will be heading to Dartmouth to compete in the UMass Dartmouth Invitational, competing alongside a variety of Division 1, 2, and 3 teams from across New England.
As of Tuesday afternoon, conditions for the meet seem like optimal PR weather, with temperatures on the start line in the high 60s, a dew point in the low to mid 50s, and, to top it off, overcast clouds. Additionally, the course, a circuit around the fields and woods surrounding UMass Dartmouth’s campus, has been described by runners online as “fast and flat” and a “masterpiece.” Regardless of the outcome of the team placement-wise, this will be a great opportunity for the Crusaders to get their 6000m and 8000m times down.
On the women’s side, the Crusaders are coming off a 2nd-place finish from their trial meet at UMass Amherst, with Junior Aluna Coogan-Coyne’s 14:13 4k performance holding the Minutewomen back from a perfect 15. With a spread of only 34 seconds, the Crusaders had the lowest spread of the three teams, indicative of a tight-knit team pushing one another forward.
As for their results last year, the Crusaders placed 5th, led by Sienna Brunetti, who herself ran a 21:31, taking home 5th place individually. This was followed by the quartet of Natalie Martin, Megan Moran, Abby Granath, and Meryl Sullivan, who came in together with a spread of 28 seconds.
While only Moran and Brunetti are the only ones of last year’s invite scorers to return, whether it comes from the veterans or new faces on the team, the Crusaders have an excellent opportunity to replicate their success last year by running as a pack on this famously fast course.
The women, however, are not the only ones taking their talents up to UMass Dartmouth. As the men prepare for their 8k, the eyes are on one runner to see if he can take gold and build off the momentum of his performance this past weekend.
For lack of better words, Joseph Mahon has had a really good week. His 18:38 6k time, 10 seconds faster than the second-place finisher, won him the Invitational, Patriot League Runner of the Week, and Crusader of the Week.
While the accolades certainly are nice, XC is all a numbers game: time, points, and placement. Fortunately for Joseph, based on last year’s results, he is very much in contention for that top spot at UMass Dartmouth, with him placing 2nd last year, just seven seconds behind 2026 Crusader of the Year, Liam Lyons, who graduated this past May. While nothing’s given in this sport, especially as trackflation continues to grow, it is clear that Joseph Mahon has a strong shot to be the first to the finish.
As a whole, the men’s team had a setback last week, placing third in the invitational, but when one dissects the results of last week, it is clear spring is in the air for the men’s team, as freshmen Ian Morgan and Hugo Hamnett came in as a pair, being second and third men for the Crusaders this past week. With such a speedy start to their collegiate careers, it is going to be amazing to see how they develop as runners in their four years here.
According to MileSplit, the order of events for Saturday is as follows:
Men Navy: 10:30 AM
Men Gold: 11:20 AM
Women Gold: 12:00 PM
Women Navy: 12:40 PM
Good luck to all runners competing this weekend, and of course, Go Cross Go!
Image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics
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