Union’s Men’s Cross Country team has a lot of young talent that has stepped up including freshman Jesse Coull.
The Union cross-country program has gotten off to a great start this season with both the men and women getting in the top five for the Airfield Invitational and the Mount Saint Mary’s Invitational.
The women’s team got a big boost with the addition of five freshman, including the Liberty League’s Rookie of the Week on September 17, Jen Ventrella. Ventrella finished twentieth overall and first for Union in the Airfield Invitational with a time of 24:40, not to mention it was her first ever 6K. She also received a top 20 award at the invitational, definitely something to be proud of. All of the Dutchwomen performed exceptionally well, finishing within 1:06 and fourth overall, which is extremely rare in a 6K. At the Mount Saint Mary’s Women’s Invitational the team ran a strong 3.3 mile race and finished second. Amanda Montefort ‘16 came in first for the Dutchwomen at 21:56, closely followed by Ventrella (21:58) and Rebekah Williams ‘15 (22:09). The top five finishers for Union were all within 27 seconds of each other, which was what led to the second place finish.
The men’s team has been finding great success in their first two meets as well, finishing fifth in the Airfield Invitational and first in the Mount Saint Mary’s Men’s Invitational. In the Airfield Invitational Sam Jones ‘15 broke his personal record finishing the 8K in 29:04. Brian Solinsky ‘13 also performed well, shaving six minutes off his previous time, finishing in 29:36. The Dutchmen were able to stave off all opponents at Mount Saint Mary’s, thanks in part to Freshmen Jesse Coull, Mitchell Fintz, Colby Howland and Ryan Saeger who all finished in the top 15.
The men’s team has similarly found a lot of success in their Freshman class, led by Coull. Coull was named Rookie of the Week by the Liberty League on September 17 after his great performance in the Airfield Invitational, placing fifth, and followed by another stellar performance in the Mount Saint Mary’s Men’s Invitational. There he finished first, while fighting off two pursuers in the final 600 meters.
These victories don’t come easily for Coull, however, who has a strict morning ritual of “a bagel, drinking lots of water,” and “always a Clif Bar,” pre-meet. He follows this with the team warmup, something he personally enjoys, given the closeness and respect amongst the Dutchmen.
Coull is excited to continue his run at Union with the “great group of Freshman” he has entered into this experience with.
As far as this season goes, Coull is looking forward to breaking 26:00— his own personal goal.
We are all looking forward to seeing the rest of the season from both these teams, given their incredible first two meets!
[/media-credit] Union’s Men’s Cross Country team has a lot of young talent that has stepped up including freshman Jesse Coull.
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