Emily Kroshus

For the second consecutive season, the nation of Canada figures to have a major impact on the women's athletic scene at Princeton.

Last year, tennis star Kavitha Krishnamurthy of Oakville, Ontario, helped lead the Tiger women's tennis team to an undefeated Ivy League season and NCAA tournament berth. This fall, women's cross-country's Emily Kroshus — of Calgary, Alberta — has staked an early claim as Princeton's top new athlete.

Kroshus finished first in last weekend's dual meet with La Salle and the College of New Jersey, posting a time of 17 minutes, 58 seconds. Kroshus outlasted the second-place finisher — La Salle's Solomia Login — by a full 22 seconds. That margin of victory was made all the more amazing by the fact that the freshman held back during the first mile of the race. Not wanting to go out too fast in her first collegiate race, Kroshus chose to wait till the middle portion of the race to open up her stride. After that, the pack did not stand a chance.

Kroshus's performance was the fourth best by a Princeton woman in the history of the Princeton Battlefield. Kroshus and the Tigers will be out of action until Sept. 30, when they travel to Van Cortlandt Park, N.Y., to participate in the Iona Invitational.