Believe it or not, after three races the University of Massachusetts cross-country team has reached the pinnacle of its season. Barring a trip to the

postseason, the Minutemen will have one meet after Saturday’s New England

Championship, to improve upon last years, sixth place A-10 finish.

This year’s New England Championship will be held at Boston’s historical

Franklin Park, where 315 runners from all 47 New England schools, will compete

in the 5,000-meter event.

“Obviously, this is the largest race of the year in terms of numbers, but it is

also the biggest in terms of the level of excitement,” head coach Ken O’Brien

said. “Up till now our meets have been 40-50 runners, this will be six times

larger, with a huge crowd, and high stakes.”

In a five-week season, a second, third and fourth place finish in the first

three races, may not be enough to propel the Maroon and White into the NCAA

tournament.

“Our production will determine a lot in terms of where we are in the broad

spectrum of New England teams, as well as how we match up in the A-10,” O’Brien

said.

Ten schools racing on Saturday are nationally ranked in the top 20, in their

respective Division one, two, or three categories.

Providence is the D-1 favorite, ranked anywhere from 7-10 in the country,

depending on the poll. Other teams of concern to UMass are Brown, Dartmouth and

BU, all ranked in the top 20.

“The quality of competition should make for an interesting race, not only are

there fast runners, the course its self will make for a fast race. The course

is very flat, and if there’s nice weather, guys will be making very good time,”

O’Brien said.

The course at Franklin Park is flat except for one hill, so competitors feel as

though they are running on a track rather than a typical cross-country trail.

At the starting point there is enough space for the 300 runners to spread out,

but at the 2,000-meter mark the course gets narrow, creating a potential

bottleneck.

“It’s almost like the course favors 800 meter runners. When the guys run, you

see then sprinting to the 2,000-meter mark, and the guys who get there first

are the ones who don’t get bogged down,” woman’s head coach Julia LaFreniere

said.

Seniors Dave Hantman and Matthew Thomas, and junior Andrew McCarron, will be looked upon to lead the Minutemen at Franklin Park, because they have experience running mid-distance during the indoor season.

“It should be fun, Keen St. is another team that people look past because

they’re D-2. In a race like this you don’t know how things are going to turn

out, the best thing we can do is make sure we run together,” O’Brien said.

Out of the 47 schools, UMass’ placement among the 19 Division 1 schools will

be the largest factor in determining a possible bid into the NCAA Tournament.

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The woman will race on Friday in the New England Championships, but against a

comparatively higher level of competition than the men. Providence College, ranked No. 5 in the country and No. 23 Boston College are pre-meet favorites.

“The Northeast is a powerhouse for long-distance. Some of the best schools in

the country will be at Saturday’s meet, including Williams and Middlebury, who

are ranked first and second in the country for D-3,” La Freniere said.

Most of the Ivy League will be represented at the Championships, including

Brown, Dartmouth, and Yale. “The Ivy’s are always strong, and some of the D-2

schools like No. 13 Amherst College and No. 18 Wesleyan and should be in the hunt,” La Freniere said.

Senior leader Alexis Anzelone, who finished first among UMass scorers in all three races, will be looked upon to lead an inexperienced team in the highest profile meet of the regular season.

The team will look for an impressive showing from its top five runners, to help put an unranked squad into the NCAA tournament picture.

“Lexi will probably lead the team, so the key will be the other four in my Fab Five, that is, Tricia Silva, Kate Markopoulos, Cuisle Kiernas, and Amanda Dahlberg,” La Freniere said. “If Anzelone can get out in front, and the other four run like they did this week in practice, we should be fine.”

The top five runners for the Minutewoman have finished with a 48, 120, and 50-second differential between them and their teammates.

“I think the team is ready to break out with a good race, Anzelone is clearly the frontrunner, but if the other four girls can stay as close to her as they can, the team will bring in a good score,” La Freniere said.