WATERFORD, CT -- The Houghton University XC teams received an invitation to compete at the Connecticut College Invitational late last spring. It was an invitation reserved for teams that finished in the top 10 in their region the previous Fall. As this Fall progressed, that invitation turned into entry into the 'Blue Race'. The men's and women's blue races contained 28 teams ranked in the top 30 of NCAA Division III, this year. This included the top 5 ranked teams in the country in the women's race. On a course at Harkness Memorial State Park, and a route along the Connecticut Sound, the Highlanders competed well amongst the 1100+ runners in attendance. On a rolling course with tight turns, and a packed field, 5 Highlanders still ran to personal best performances. Many others nearly matched their strong effort at their fast home invitational just last weekend. The men's and women's teams both beat conference and regional rival SUNY Brockport, with just 6 points separating the team in the men's race. Both squads got bested by regionally ranked Ithaca. led the women with a 101st place finish in the blue race, with a time of 22:41. Amy Collins was just two spots back of her in 103rd place, and a 22:43 personal best time. Amos Bixler led the men in 97th place, in a time of 25:32. 

COACHES CORNER
"I think today, we just learned a lot. We learned how to travel 6+ hours, and manage those circumstances. We learned running on a new course and how to adapt. We learned how to line up with some of the best in the country, and manage the nerves and expectations. We weren't perfect today, but we learned. The men in the white race fully took advantage of having some larger groups to run with. Those guys really showed up today. Four personal bests, and nearly a fifth, in that race. The blue race men got out a bit slow, but moved through the field as well as they could. We learned, on that course, that's a tough job. We'd do it slightly different next time, and that we will. The women, in response, got our hard and well. At each spot, they looked strong, and were battling for team position. This was well done. As many of our other teams at Houghton know, we hope our culture grew a little bit by accepting the invitational to this meet, and being together for 36 hours."