While most students were still asleep in bed, the Washington University cross country team battled the elements last  Saturday morning.

Despite the torrential downpour that turned the 2K course into a massive mud pit, the women’s team took first place while the men’s squad came in second in the Big River Running Early Bird Meet held at the Central Fields of Forest Park. Neither team was deterred by the daunting conditions or the uphill portions of the 2K course. The women ran a 4K, while the men competed in the 6K.

“If it’s snowing…hail, rain, mud, we run through it,” senior co-captain Hope Rathnam said. “That’s what makes it fun.”

The rain-slicked grounds proved to be too much for some competitors who slipped in the meet.

“It’s tough because you can’t really get traction, so you aren’t going to get into a great rhythm,” sophomore Michael Burnstein said. “You have to focus on going as hard as you can on the few dry spots on the downhills.”

Burnstein was the first Bear over the finish line, with a time of 19:55, placing sixth overall. Freshman David Hamm finished 10th with a time of 20:10, while sophomore Malik Nabulsi trailed by two seconds. Each runner was splattered with mud and soaked in water by the end of the race.

Senior Molly Schlamb paced the women, finishing in second overall with a time of 15:04. Sophomore Elizabeth Phillips took third with a time of 15:03, while junior Jessica Londeree placed sixth with a time of 15:31. Each of the seven scorers finished in the top 25, with freshmen Brancoyn Bedrick and Anne Correll at 12th and 14th, respectively. Sophomore Molly Wawrzyniak came in 18th and Rathnam finished in 22nd. The women finished ahead of Division I Xavier University and Saint Louis University.

The men finished behind Xavier. The other top-25 men’s performers were senior Alex Bearden, junior Erik Hinrichsen and senior Matt Kruger, who came in 15th, 18th and 23rd, respectively.

According to head coach Jeff Stiles, both Schlamb and Nabulsi were battling injuries throughout last year.

“It’s really good to validate that [Schlamb is] an All-American runner,” Stiles said. “[Nabulsi has] been a coach’s dream. It just validates that all the work they’ve put in has been worth it.”

But the results and times aren’t as important as the process, according to several runners.

“This race is just about team and seeing where everyone’s at,” said Schlamb, a co-captain.

Both squads look strong after their performances at the Early Bird meet.

“We had three guys who finished higher than anyone last year,” Burnstein said. “None of the three top finishers even ran for Wash. U. last year.”

More importantly, the cross country squad’s bond was solidified. The teams see action on Saturday, when they compete at the Maryville Classic at 9 a.m.

“Coach always says two teams, one family, and I really  think that’s true,” Schlamb said.

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Tags: Cross Country, meet

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Cross Country, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through this feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.