PSC XC Teams Place Second Among 15 Collegiate Teams at Founding Tree Invitational

Lilly Rother and Eliot Soderholm pace the women and men's teams to second place finishes at the Hampshire College Founding Tree Invitational on Saturday in Amherst, Massachusetts.

PSC XC Teams Place Second Among 15 Collegiate Teams at Founding Tree Invitational
Photos Results
October 1, 2023

Hampshire College

Founding Tree Invitational

30 September 2023

PSC Results

 

The Paul Smith's College cross country teams were both led by first year students to second place team finishes at the inaugural Hampshire College Founding Tree Cross Country Invitational in Amherst, Massachusetts.  Lilly Rother (Lake Placid, NY) placed second in a personal best of 25:32 over the women's 6K event, while Eliot Soderholm (Reston, VA) placed second overall for the men in 27:27 in the men's 8K event. 

Ellen Haas (JR: Red Creek, NY) placed 8th overall for the women in a personal best of 26:45, while first year student Joanna Kershner (Reading, PA) placed 10th in 27:42, also a personal best.  Brooklynn Shumway established a PB with a time of 28:38 to place 16th, followed by Ellie Judice (SR: Dayton, ME) in a PB of 30:58.  Alexa Adams (SR: Albion, NY) capped off the Bobcat finishers with a time of 38:41. 

Western New England University won the women's event with 46 points, while the Bobcats finished second with 60.  A total of 15 colleges and universities took part in the Founding Tree event in gorgeous conditions, despite the mud in the low lying areas on the course. 

On the men's side, Paul Smith's was again led by a trio of first year students.  In addition to Soderholm, Ethan Parrish (Adamant, VT) placed 8th in 29:06 with a personal best, while Tyler Kirschbaum broke the 30 minute barrier with a time of 29:51, also for personal best.  Wes Burkit set a PB with a time of 31:28 for 25th place, followed closely by Ryan Chiari in 31:57 to place 32nd. 

A dozen men raced for Paul Smith's, and nearly the entire team established personal bests over the 8K distance.  The coaches attribute the excellent performances to the relatively flat course, and having run a series of premium collegiate races three weeks in succession at SUNY Plattsburgh, Vermont Tech, and then at Middlebury, before getting a full two weeks between races for the remainder of the season.  These 14 day gaps between races should allow the runners to sufficiently recover from the stress of the most recent collegiate event, while setting up some decent mileage and speed work between these events.  For example, last weekend the runners took part in the annual family weekend 10K (6.2 miles) and half marathon (13.1 mile) events together with their team mates and family members who took part.  Interspersing some of these longer distances in practice allow the runners to adapt to the training without the added stress of competition.  

With the solid autumn weather we have been experiencing recently, the team has been able to get in some quality training without battling repeated days of cold rain.  The team is preparing for the Cross Country Only Championships at Seneca Lake State Park in two weeks, leading to the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) Championships back at Hampshire College before concluding the season at USCAA Nationals in Uniontown, PA on November 12th.  Currently the Bobcat Cross Country Teams are poised to have strong team finishes at the YSCC Championships, and with some solid training and preparation, are looking for solid team and individual performances at Nationals.

Paul Smith's College Individual Results - 2023 Founding Tree Invitational

Name

1 Mile

2 Miles

3 Miles

8K

Time

Place/

Pts

Pace/Km

Pace/Mile

Eliot Soderholm

5:15

10:52

16:22

27:27

2/1

3:26

5:31

Ethan Parrish

5:16

11:13

17:06

29:06

8/5

3:38

5:51

Tyler Kirschbaum

5:33

11:46

17:44

29:51

10/7

3:44

6:00

Wesley Burkit

6:12

12:36

18:53

31:28

25/22

3:56

6:20

Ryan Chiari

6:02

12:34

19:11

31:57

32/26

4:00

6:26

Logan Krahn

6:35

14:07

20:58

34:22

61/44

4:18

6:55

Dermot O'Connor

6:00

13:01

20:04

34:31

62/45

4:19

6:57

Nathan Shader

6:03

13:01

20:18

34:47

63/

4:21

7:00

Carson Wohlers

6:13

14:29

22:07

37:08

74/

4:39

7:28

Ian Montgomery - Gehrt

7:22

15:31

23:45

38:55

83/

4:52

7:50

Aidan Minihan

7:22

15:31

23:45

38:58

84/

4:52

7:50

Samuel Wood

6:59

14:58

23:12

39:40

88

4:58

7:59

Name

1 Mile

2 Mile

6K

Time

Place/

Pts

Pace/Km

Pace/Mile

 

Lilly Rother

6:45

13:31

25:32

2/2

4:15

6:51

 

Ellen Haas

7:00

14:10

26:45

8/8

4:28

7:10

 

Joanna Kerchner

7:24

14:33

27:42

11/10

4:37

7:26

 

Brooklynn Shumway

7:24

15:02

28:38

16/13

4:46

7:41

 

Ellie Judice

7:50

16:10

30:58

32/27

5:10

8:18

 

Alexa Adams

9:22

19:42

38:41

57/50

6:27

10:23

 

           

Team Scores – Women                                 Team Scores – Men

  1. Western New England U. 46                          1. Western New England U. 37
  2. Paul Smith's 60                                               2. Paul Smith's 61
  3. Bard 88                                                           3. Bard 81
  4. WOLBI 99                                                      4. WOLBI 81
  5. SUNY Canton 137                                          5. Eastern Nazareth 161
  6. Elms 156                                                         6. SUNY Canton 167
  7. St. Joe's (CT) 168                                           7. Vermont Tech 188
  8. Albany Pharmacy 173                                    8. Albany Pharmacy 194
  9. MCLA 209                                                      9. Hampshire 211
  10. Mitchell 237                                                    Incomplete teams: Curry, York CCC, NHTI,
  11. Hampshire 247                                                St. Joe's (CT), MCLA, Elms.

Incomplete teams: Curry, York CCC,                  104 finishers.

NHTI, Eastern Nazareth.

75 finishers