2023 Cross Country Season Preview
8/31/2023
The Brown men’s and women’s cross country programs are set to begin a new season this weekend by hosting the Rothenberg Cross Country Invitational this Friday at Highland Park in Attleboro, Mass.
The meet will mark the start of a season that will see the Bears compete in seven regular season meets over the next two months, leading up to the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships on October 28 at Franklin Park in Boston.
The team’s first three meets of the season will all be local with the Friar XC Invitational (Sept. 8) also taking place at Highland Park in Attleboro, and the Nassaney Invitational (Sept. 9) in Smithfield. The Bears will visit Bethlehem, Pa. for the Paul Short Run on September 30, one of the largest intercollegiate cross country events in the nation. The following two weeks will feature the New England Championships at Franklin Park on October 7 and the ECAC/IC4A Championships at Van Cortland Park.
Women's Team Outlook
The Brown women’s squad features a total of 28 runners this season, including 20 returners and eight newcomers.
Junior Isolde McManus scored in all seven of her meets last season, including finishing in the team’s top two in six of those meets and led the team’s pack four times. Isa Stronski is another runner who brings ample collegiate experience back for her senior season after scoring in all six of her meets in 2022, including leading the Bears’ pack at the NCAA Regional. Sophomore Emily Mrakovcic led the Bears last year at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown and finished in the top three on two other occasions, while taking fifth on the squad at regionals. Maxine Montoya and Katie Orchard are two more upperclassmen who return after factoring into Brown’s top five a season ago.
The Bears will also look to get a big boost from sophomore Nimrit Ahuja, who missed the 2022 cross country season, but made an impact on the track during the both the indoor and outdoor seasons. She qualified for the 1500m finals at outdoor Heps in May, and took home the silver medal at both the U20 USATF Championships and the Pan-Am Championships in Puerto Rico.
Men's Team Outlook
The 2023 Brown men’s cross country squad features 21 athletes, including 14 returners and seven newcomers.
Among the returners is senior Evan Sherman, who led the team’s pack in all five of his races last season, including at Heps and an individual win at the Rothenberg Run. Junior Justin Hickey is back after scoring in all six of his races last fall, including a third place team finish at the NCAA Northeast Regional. Sophomore Jason Markopoulos scored in six meets last year, including in the team’s top four on five occasions and junior Sam Colton also returns and will look to push the team’s pack this season. The Bears also expect to receive boosts from a pair of fifth year seniors in Jesse Edelstein and Georgie Young, both of whom were limited last fall, but return fully healthy after strong outdoor track seasons this past spring.
Among the Bears newcomers are six first-years and one transfer in Tommy Gaffey, who brings in collegiate experience after competing the last two years at the University of North Carolina.
