Home-grown talent secures squad's success

Connecticut may not be known for turning out great runners, but at Yale, runners on the men's cross-country team are teaching the rest of the country a lesson and racking up points along the way. "Connecticut and Yale cross-country—they go way back," captain Alexis Surovov, SM '02, said jokingly.

What has become a team joke about the "Connecticut club" may also be a subtle—yet purely coincidental—key to the team's success this year. A quarter of the team hails from the Constitution State, including four of the squad's top five runners.

In a dual meet with Harvard on Sat., Oct. 6, five of Yale's top six finishers could call Connecticut home, including Surovov, who took third place with a time of 26:08. Just 13 seconds off the lead runner, Alisdair McLean-Foreman '04, who set a new course record in the meet, Surovov was followed by three more Elis in the next 21 seconds, including Lucas Meyer, DC '05, and Chris Andrew, JE '04, also Connecticut natives.

While much attention has been paid to the youthfulness of the team, Surovov claims the true strength of the squad is in its consistency. This will benefit Yale at the upcoming New England Championships, when the Bulldogs can run a team race instead of the man-to-man style of the Harvard meet.

"We have a really tight spread between our first six runners—37 seconds," Surovov said. "If you're running against just one team, if you fall off the pace, you're running alone. We'll end up running better at New Englands as a team." Yale will have a chance to avenge its 22-35 loss to Harvard at New Englands, as well as going up against strong squads like No. 7 Providence. With the contribution of younger runners and experienced veterans, however, the Elis are bound to feel at home.

—Laurie Randell

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