Ephs to Host ECAC Cross-Country Championships

Williamstown, MA--This Saturday, when the starting gun for the men's 8K goes off at noon, the Ephs will have less than half an hour to prove they deserve a 5th consecutive ECAC title. Having "home-course advantage" should help; the Ephs' own Mt. Greylock Regional High School course is the site of this year's edition of the ECAC Cross-Country Championships. For several members of this year's ECAC squad, which features the team's 'second 7', it is the fourth time they have raced the course this year.

The Mt. Greylock course has become a popular location for championship meets. Last year it was the site of both the Little Three Championships and the New England Division III Regional Championships in addition to two smaller invitationals. At the Regional Championships last year, Coach Pete Farwell talked about why: "We have been working on improving this course for several years and knew that it would be a good course for championship meets. It's a challenging course with a few smaller hills and one long hill, but nothing too difficult. It's also wide enough to handle the traffic of hundreds of runners at championship meets. There are no bottlenecks or hairpin turns. Finally, it's set in a beautiful location in the Berkshires and the course displays the area's natural beauty."

The Ephs will have all classes represented with one senior, two juniors, two sophomores, and two freshmen set to race. The team includes Matt Wyatt '12 and David Carlin '12, who were fighting for varsity sports the entire season, and Sam Jackson, who has been coming on strong in his senior season with a series of impressive races. Juniors Geoff Rodriguez and Jason Rapaport earned spots on the squad on this course at last week in the Doc Seeley Invite. Brandon Abasolo and Wade Davis, two freshmen with promising futures, round out the 'second 7'.

With over 300 runners representing 46 schools from 8 different states, it's a good thing the Mt. Greylock course can handle crowds, both from spectators and athletes. Although the air will be crisp with typical late autumn coolness, the skies should be mostly sunny for this weekend's meet.

The Ephs invite one and all to head out to Mt. Greylock Regional High School this weekend to watch two exciting races, a women's 6K at 11:00 A.M. (read more here), and a men's 8K at noon.