Emerson’s Cross Country Lions Take Pride in Racing to Season’s Finish Line
Honking cars, strolling Bostonians with leashed pups, and strollers, are part of the training ground for the Emerson College Cross Country teams.
That urban gauntlet has prepared the Lions and Lionesses on their run towards the season’s finish line.
“I feel pretty good about both teams right now,” said Brandon Fox , coach of the men’s and women’s squads. “The first two weeks, we focus on keeping mileage up while feeling out injuries and fitness. We’ll start ramping up workout intensity, but we don’t cross into the more anaerobic part of the season until the late-stage races.”
Photos courtesy Gordon College Athletics Department
This past weekend, the women placed eighth in the 5K division at the James Earley Invitational, with the men placing 14th. Both teams will head up to Maine this Saturday for the Runnin’ Monks Invitational at St. Joseph’s College, their final meet before the NEWMAC Championship on November 2 at Wellesley College.
As a team, the women have consistently placed in the top half of the competition; they took fourth at the University of Hartford Invitational on September 7, fifth at the Pop Crowell Invitational on September 14, and first at the Founding Tree Invitational on September 28.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY 🏃♀️
— NEWMAC (@NEWMACsports) October 1, 2024
RUNNER OF THE WEEK @EmersonLions Yasmin Defne Dadikhi claimed the individual crown with a time of 24:09.0 to help Emerson capture the team title at the Hampshire College Founding Tree Invitational.https://t.co/uzjqkMm21B#GoNEWMAC // #WhyD3 pic.twitter.com/Wfz2zvu3pj
Yasmin Defne Dadikhi ’26 has been a star, setting records along the way. She’s placed in the top four at every race this season and was named NEWMAC Runner of the Week on October 1. On October 5, Dadikhi, Sam Zannotti ’25 and Olivia Kardos ’26 competed in the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University, where Dadhiki placed fourth with a personal and school record of 22:07.7.
“The process of running makes me happy, as well as the successes,” Dadikhi said. “I’ve learned a lot from last year and have tried to be smarter and more intentional about my training.”
Hailing from Istanbul, Turkey, Dadikhi didn’t grow up with the typical American high school running experience. She was encouraged by a friend to sign-up for the Emerson College team last year and has dominated the field since.
“She doesn’t care when the gun goes off,” Fox said. She’ll go after anybody and I love that. She has that maturity level and knows what she has to do.”
Dadikhi said her experience as a theater and performance major helps her stay collected at the starting line.
“Acting has taught me ease while performing—no one wants to watch someone be stressed on stage,” Dadikhi said. “It’s a really similar feeling as before a race when controlling emotions.”
Photos courtesy Gordon College Athletics Department
In cross country, the top five runners from each school contribute to the team’s overall score; like golf, the lower overall score is better. If the five fastest runners on a team can place close together, it reduces the spread and pushes the team score higher. Both teams have struggled with that spread, and team captain Joe Norris ’25 hopes to close the gap by the end of the season for the men’s team.
“I would love for our first five to come in under 30 minutes,” Norris said. “That is what we have been looking for. We really want to close that gap, we have the people to do it and are waiting for their ascension.”
Fox said the women’s team faces the same challenge and hopes to shorten the spread before championship season. If the top five close the gap, the sixth and seventh runners can displace other competitors in the field. As a team, Fox wants the group to continue taking a “race-day” approach to workouts.
“We now want those workouts to come to fruition and see breakthroughs in races,” Fox said. “It’s how you finish the race in mid-November, so we’ll just keep coming.”
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