Megan Curham arrived at the NCAA Cross Country Championships last weekend looking for a fight. Refusing to be intimidated by the talent-loaded field, Curham gamely stuck her nose in with the top women in the country — and prevailed.
Capping off an outstanding collegiate debut cross country season, Curham drove hard to a 34th place finish and All-America honors. When she crossed the line, she became the first Princeton freshman in the women’s program to earn All-America selection, and only the seventh across all classes.
“I love big meets, I love the competition. Running with really, really fast people brings out the best in my running,” Curham said. “During the season I thought it would be really cool to be in the top 40 [All-America criteria], but I didn’t really think I would. I’m very, very happy that I did.”
If the competition wasn’t fierce enough already, with 253 of the nation’s finest runners assembled at the starting line, dismal weather conditions made the running much tougher. Heavy rain early in the week left the course in Terre Haute, Ind., sloppy and muddy. Temperatures in the 30s and gusting winds up to 35 mph added an additional icy challenge. Nevertheless, Curham’s strategy was simple: stick with the leaders and endure.
“She was totally conscious out there of where she was and where she wanted to be. It sounds obvious, but when you’re running through one-foot puddles of ice water, it’s hard,” women’s head coach Peter Farrell said. “She’s amazing for someone her age to compete and understand the sport at the level that she does. I can spend 10 to 15 minutes talking race strategy with a runner, but with her it’s two sentences. She knows what she can do.“
Breaking fast off the line, Curham established her position in the second chase pack at the front of the field. Hanging on toughly over the rolling hills and swampy ground, Curham kicked strongly over the home straight to finish the 6k race in 20 minutes, 42.3 seconds. Up ahead, Heps champion Abbey D’Agostino from Dartmouth won her first national cross country title, taking the crown in 20:00.27.
Following Curham, junior Kathryn Fluehr — finishing up her first cross country season after missing extensive time due to injuries — placed second for the Tigers and 187th overall in 21:55.94. Junior captain Emily de La Bruyere, freshman Lizzie Bird and sophomore Kathryn Little rounded out the top five. Princeton finished 30th overall, while Providence College took home the first-place trophy.
Racing before the women, the Princeton men got out slowly and struggled to claw their way back up through the crowded field. While the men had hopes of beating their program-best finish of 11th place last year, it was not to be as the Tigers had a hard day, taking 22nd overall. Nevertheless, Princeton was still the top Ivy League team — beating Dartmouth, Heps champion Columbia and Harvard.
“We just didn’t have a day where all of our top guys were having a good day,” senior co-captain Alejandro Arroyo Yamin said. “It’s the beauty and the ugliness of cross country — you never know what’s going to happen on the given day. Sometimes your mind or your body just doesn’t react the way you want it to.”
Aiming to run conservatively early on in the slick and energy-sapping muck, the Tigers misjudged slightly and started off back in the field. Looking to be in the top 50 to 80 places in the early stages of the race, by the first mile Arroyo Yamin and senior Tyler Udland were buried in the 100s.
“A lot of people go out too hard and die, especially in those types of weather conditions,” Udland said. “But I think we took it too far and put ourselves in a bit of a hole that was too hard to dig out of.”
Working hard over the second half of the race, Udland, Arroyo Yamin and junior Sam Pons gritted it out to gain back points, place by place.
“It was a grind,” Arroyo Yamin said. “It was definitely one of the toughest races I’ve run — mentally and physically.”
Making a big push over the final kilometers, Udland led the Tigers, finishing 47th in 30:53.5 for the 10k race. Udland was an agonizing seven places shy of All-America honors, but still had a 32-place improvement from 79th in 2012. Finishing next for the Tigers, Arroyo Yamin also placed in the top 100, taking 73rd in 31:03.5. Pons, and juniors Matt McDonald and Connor Martin, completed the scoring for Princeton.
Winning the individual crown, Oregon freshman and former New Jersey prep schooler Edward Cheserek upset defending champion Kennedy Kithuka of Texas Tech, finishing in 29:41.01, while Colorado took the team title. Heps champion Maksim Korolev of Harvard led the Ivy League in third place.
After a long and wearing cross country season, next up for the Princeton runners is a break before the preparation for indoor track commences. Especially for Curham, who only just finished her first full season, it is important to be cautious and not rush things.
“She’s made a big jump from senior year of high school to freshman year at college. The one thing she needs is patience,” Farrell said. “My tendency is to tell them, ‘You got through your first collegiate season and performed marvelously. Now take a break. Take the chips and leave the table for a little while.’”
Once the Tigers resume, it’s all business for the next season.
“Nationals obviously didn’t turn out the way we hoped — but I’m hoping everyone comes away saying, ‘OK, there’s work to be done,’” Udland said. “I think people will come back hungry for track. There are still two more Heps titles that we have to win.”
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