Looking to stay hot for the Northeast Conference Championships this Saturday, Central Connecticut cross country was able to land fourth and fifth place finishes in the women’s and men’s races at their Annual Mini Meet at Stanley Quarter Park.

The women finished fourth in their 14 team three-kilometer run, tallying 99 points on the day. Angelia Rafter did more of the usual for the Blue Devils, finishing first for the women and fourth overall in the 3K with a 10:12.3 time. Close behind Rafter was teammate Megan Brawner, who finished tenth with a 10:22.5 time.

Teammates Dawn Hubbell and Ashley Dana finished shortly after Brawner, placing 20th and 27th, respectively.

In her first race of the season for the Blue Devils, senior Madeline Mondo placed 38th with a time of 11:04.1.

The race was “a good start by [Mondo]” for coach Eric Blake. “She’s been training and just needed to get a race under her belt.”

As for the senior’s usage in the upcoming championship, Blake said: “she will be up to her normal form by next week.”

Blake took a different approach in the usage of Alex Norstrom, who did not race at the Annual Mini Meet.

Blake explained why Norstrom didn’t run in the mini meet.

“With Alex being a fifth-year senior, he’s run in a lot of college races. We’ve got some big plans for him next week for the NEC Regionals, so he’s just focusing on that. He didn’t really need the experience of this 5k.”

The men certainly picked up the slack in Norstrom’s absence. Roberto Piotto was first for the Blue Devils, finishing fifth overall in the 5k after posting a 14:59.3 time. Richard Grudzwick completed the race just 18 seconds after, good for a 15th place finish.

Charles Traubl finished 27th with a time of 15:30.5.

The men finished the day with 147 points in the 12-team race, putting them in fifth place.

Looking forward to the NEC Championship at Bryant next weekend, Blake believes “the team is looking good, they’re healthy.”

The shorter race lengths (5K for men, 3K for women) were ideal for the Blue Devils, as explained by Blake.

“The recovery is less because it is shorter. I like it because the way it falls before the meet, being shorter, they are gonna run at a faster pace. The idea is to get their legs turning over and to get ready for next week, and I think it accomplished that.”

One point Blake looks to emphasize before NECs is running with a teammate.

“You may not have a pack, but Angelia and Megan were pretty close, and in a 5K, Dawn will be right there too. On the guy’s side, you plug Alex in and he’ll be right in there with Roberto. If they can get with a teammate that’s at a similar level, it just makes it easier,” Blake said.

The Blue Devils have high expectations for Saturday, where the men will look to win their tenth straight NEC Championship, while the women seek to match that feat.