VTC competes at USCAA Cross Country nationals
VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (VERMONT TECH) -- The Women's Cross Country team at Vermont Technical College made history on Friday - it was the first time in school history that a full team competed at the USCAA National Championships, and the best overall finish by a Vermont Tech team.
The #1 Vermont Tech runner Nicole Cutler finished first for the Women's team in 57th place with a 30:41 time. Nicole started late in the season and ran conference and nationals leading the team both times as a strong top runner. Masha Goodspeed ran second for the team finishing 65th overall with a time of 31:57. Masha is a senior and will not be back next year. She ran a solid season and is an important part of the success the women had this year. Emma Labadie finished a close 3rd behind Masha with a 66th place finish in 31:59. Emma worked hard this season and had a great finish to help the team compete well at both conference and nationals. Olivia Machado finished 71st in 33:04 in the final race of her first cross country season of her career. Olivia had a great season and made great improvements over the short season to be a strong contributor to the team. Look for Olivia to do great things next year as she returns for another season. Sophie Provost ran her best college race by almost 2 minutes to clinch a 10th place overall finish for the Vermont Tech Women's team. Sophie has really stepped up to be that 5th runner the team needed. She finished 82nd in 38:17 to finish her season in a great finale.
Coach Bob Dunkle indicated, "This is a great turning point for the Women's team. We have raised the bar and have been getting great results. Cross Country is a tough sport and requires grit. Many runners will start the season but few make it all the way to Nationals to compete in the big race."
Vermont Technical College continues recruiting for next season. If we can land some our our current prospects, we are looking forward to another season of huge gains, and improvements at both the conference and national level.
VTC Men compete at nationals
The USCAA National Championship race was held Friday, Nov 9th at Virginia Beach, Virginia on a warm and windy day. Vermont Technical College sent a full Men's team to the USCAA Nationals XC championships this year for the first time in at least 5 years. The Men's team did well finishing 15th overall. The team was led by freshman Tyler Dunham who finished 54th overall in a time of 30:29 on the 8K course. Tyler has had a great season and finished strong. Tyler is a freshman and will be returning next year. We are looking forward to seeing Tyler accomplish some great things as he goes into his second year of cross country here at Vermont Technical college. Finishing second for Vermont Tech was senior David Mattern. David is a soccer player who loves to run and does well at it. He has run for 3 seasons with the team as time permits and has been an important part of the program both as a runner and his great sense of humor. David finished his final race in 62nd place running time of 30:51. Sophomore Matthew Kelly ran a great race finishing 81st in 32:37. Matt is a steady runner and a solid part of the team. He works hard and will be a great part of the future cross country team next season. Matt was followed by Michael Dunkle, also a Sophomore who finished 98th place with a 33:37 time. Michael is as solid as they come. He spent this season battling a stomach ailment which cause severe stomach pains and even blackouts during his races. He always finished. We are looking forward to a healthy season with a strong top 3 runner. Rounding up the team finish was Kevin Kressock. A freshman Kevin has also been a solid runner for the team, always there to step in and run his best. Kevin finished 118th overall with a time of 35:45. Vermont Technical College Men's team has great dynamics. The men are really good friends and spent the first year together developing a great working relationship. They have specific goals as a team and are willing to work to get them.
The fall 2019 season will begin with a trianing camp on Cape Cod.