HADLEY, Mass. – Junior Tyler Morris of Colby and senior Danielle Page of Tufts are the NESCAC Most Outstanding Performers following Sunday's 2021 NESCAC Cross Country Championships hosted by Trinity at Wickham Park in Manchester, Connecticut. The annual honor is given to the individuals who finished first at the conference championship.
Morris, the 2019 Rookie of the Year, took home the men's title with a winning time of 24:28.70, nearly 37 seconds ahead of the second-place runner. Morris is the first Colby runner to earn the Most Outstanding Performer honor since the award inception in 2000. He is also the first Colby runner to win the individual NESCAC crown since Rob Edson in 1982 and the third Mule since 1975 (Kelly Dodge, 1980). Morris helped the Mules finish third in the team standings.
Page led the women's race from start to finish, clocking in at 22:29.4 to win the event by 30 seconds. She is the third Jumbo to win the individual women's title, joining Katy O'Brien in 2006 and Nancy Benson in 1987, and the first Jumbo since O'Brien to earn the Most Outstanding Performer award. Page was one of three Tufts runners to finish in the top five to lead the Jumbos to runner-up honors for the second straight championship.
The Williams duo of first-year Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos and sophomore Genna Girard are the NESCAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Rookie of the Year, respectively. Tuohy-Gaydos was the second Eph across the finish line, posting a fourth-place finish with a time of 25:12.8 to help the Ephs win the men's title for the 19th time. He is the eighth Williams runner to collect the Rookie of the Year honor on the men's side.
Girard is the sixth Eph to garner the women's NESCAC Rookie of the Year honor and the first since 2014 (Victoria Kingham). Girard was the fastest Williams women's runner at the championships, finishing third with a time of 23:06.8, helping the Ephs claim their 18th NESCAC crown.
Middlebury's Nicole Wilkerson was named the NESCAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year, while Peter Farwell of Williams was the NESCAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year, as voted by their peers. Wilkerson earns her first NESCAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year accolade in her 10 years at the helm of the Panthers. She is the second Middlebury coach to receive the honor (Terry Aldrich – 2010). Farwell earns his sixth NESCAC Women's Coach of the Year award and is the only Eph coach to garner the honor since its inception in 2000. The 2021 season marks Farwell's 21st season as the head coach of the women's team at Williams.
Below is a list of the NESCAC All-Conference Teams. The top seven finishers are recognized as All-NESCAC First Team and places 8-14 are All-NESCAC Second Team.
2021 NESCAC Men's Cross Country All-Conference Team
Most Outstanding Performer: Tyler Morris, Colby
Rookie of the Year: Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos, Williams
Coach of the Year: Nicole Wilkerson, Middlebury
| First Team |
Institution |
Place – Time |
Previous Honors |
| Tyler Morris |
Colby |
1st – 24:28.7 |
2019 Rookie of the Year; 2019 Second Team |
| Alexander Kessler |
Middlebury |
2nd – 25:05.4 |
|
| Elias Lindgren |
Williams |
3rd – 25:11.5 |
2019 First Team; 2018 Rookie of the Year |
| Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos |
Williams |
4th – 25:12.8 |
|
| Walter Wagude |
Tufts |
5th – 25:17.6 |
|
| Jeffrey Love |
Conn. College |
6th – 25:20.6 |
2019 Second Team |
| Drew Donahue |
Middlebury |
7th – 25-23.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Second Team |
Institution |
Place – Time |
Previous Honors |
| Owen Daily |
Amherst |
8th – 25:24.0 |
|
| Matt Carter |
Conn. College |
9th – 25:28.9 |
|
| Quinlan McGaugh |
Middlebury |
10th – 25:30.1 |
|
| Alec Gironda |
Middlebury |
11th – 25:30.7 |
|
| Will Spollen |
Williams |
12th – 25:34.6 |
|
| John Lucey |
Williams |
13th – 25:37.8 |
|
| Jackson Donahue |
Bates |
14th – 25:43.6 |
|
2021 NESCAC Women's Cross Country All-Conference Team
Most Outstanding Performer: Danielle Page, Tufts
Rookie of the Year: Genna Girard, Williams
Coach of the Year: Peter Farwell, Williams
| First Team |
Institution |
Place – Time |
Previous Honors |
| Danielle Page |
Tufts |
1st – 22:29.4 |
2019 First Team |
| Cassie Kearney |
Middlebury |
2nd – 22:59.5 |
2018 Rookie of the Year; 2018 First Team |
| Genna Girard |
Williams |
3rd – 23:06.8 |
|
| Anna Slager |
Tufts |
4th – 23:18.5 |
|
| Meghan Davis |
Tufts |
5th – 23:30.6 |
|
| Jillian Richardson |
Bates |
6th – 23:30.9 |
2019 Second Team |
| Bea Parr |
Middlebury |
7th – 23:43.9 |
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|
|
|
| Second Team |
Institution |
Place – Time |
Previous Honors |
| Mary Kate McGranahan |
Amherst |
8th – 23:53.2 |
|
| Ella Ball |
Williams |
9th – 24:01.6 |
|
| Lindsay Michels |
Colby |
10th – 24:01.8 |
|
| Miranda Graves |
Wesleyan |
11th – 24:04.7 |
|
| Leila Trummel |
Bowdoin |
12th – 24:12.8 |
|
| Elizabeth Greene |
Hamilton |
13th – 24:16.4 |
|
| Madeline Lawler |
Williams |
14th – 24:19.1 |
|
