Vermont Tech’s cross country runners competed in the USCAA National Championship races yesterday at Princess Anne Sports Complex in Virgina Beach, VA.
Junior Rebecca Broadbent (North Dighton, MA) ran a personal best time (and a new school record!) of 24:05 for 11th overall in the women’s 6K race, a superb All-American second team finish. Rebecca started the race off in 9th through the narrow starting chute, and kept herself in the mix for top 10 for much of the race. After battling with Emily Bemis of Rochester College and Jamie Welch of Berea College for the last 1K of the race, Rebecca ran out of steam in the finish sprint, placing 11th overall out of 159 runners. This is Rebecca’s second time in her career gaining All-American status for her results. Rebecca is looking forward to her last season of racing next year and a repeat performance back here in Virginia.
In the men’s race, Freshman Scott Durkee (Chelsea, VT) was the first Vermont Tech finisher in 94th place overall out of 171 finishers with a time of 31:05. Nick Poland (FR) also competed for Vermont Tech in his first National Championship and finished in 154th with a time of 39:13. Nick’s race was the most interesting as a deer ran past him on the course, causing his competition to become startled and slow down, which allowed Nick the opportunity to pass a few of them before crossing the finish line.
All of the Vermont Tech runners enjoyed the flat course, although its was quite techinical, and are looking forward to coming back next year for National Championship weekend. Next year our runners will be looking to improve personal results, and also get in the mix for the team competition.