Cross country teams split up for weekend

The men's and women's cross country teams had opposite experiences this past weekend. While the men dominated a small local invitational, the women got a taste of reality against the best in the nation at the pre-NCAA meet at Iowa State University.

The men grabbed the first six spots in the five-mile race, shutting out every team at the Leopard Invitational at Lafayette University in Easton, Pa. With senior Tensai Asfaw — who has led the team in the past two races — battling the flu and All-America captain Paul Morrison fighting an injury, the Tigers looked to a new leader to step up. Sophomore Jon Bell answered that call by winning the race in 25 minutes, 23 seconds.

"I felt really good to be contributing and competing at the top level," Bell said. "We don't have any idea who's actually going to win Heps. We've all run close together."

The next five followed in a tight pack with just 20 seconds separating the first and sixth men. Princeton's pack represented a motley corps of classes that included both freshmen and seniors.

"We definitely tightened our pack quite a bit," coach Mike Brady said.

Junior Wes Stockard (25:27) placed second for the Tigers while freshman Ryan Teising (25:37) was third and senior Biren Roy (25:38) fourth. The Tigers placed seven runners in the top eight and 11 in the top 20.

With that depth, the men's squad easily dealt defeats to Penn and Columbia, whom they will meet at Heps in two weeks.

Though initially slated to compete at the pre-NCAAs in Ames, Ia. this weekend, the men's team opted to stay close to home.

"It was a combination of not having Paul [Morrison] in there and it being a 10,000-meter race," Brady said. "I felt at this point in the season, the distance was too long."

The pre-NCAA meet draws nearly every team with a shot at making the NCAA championships. Many teams use it as an avenue of receiving an at-large bid if they fail to automatically qualify at a district meet by placing either first or second.

Last year, the men's squad placed third at the District II meet and later received the nod to compete in the national championships anyway after beating many top Southern Region teams at an early-season meet.

"We're favored right now to be in the top two," Asfaw said, adding that Georgetown is the only team in the District meet ranked ahead of Princeton, with Penn State and last year's runner-up Villanova close behind.

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While the men received a bid after placing third last year, the women placed fourth at the districts and just missed qualifying for the NCAAs. Bucknell, which finished third, got to go to NCAAs. With that in mind, Princeton head coach Peter Farrell split the squad this weekend, sending seven to Iowa and the rest of the team to the Leopard Invitational.

"You have to run these kinds of meets," Farrell said, explaining the strategy. "You have to hunt out competition from other regions."

The women's team finished 42nd in Iowa against a field of 56 teams and just under 400 runners in the longer-than-usual 6K race. Freshman Emily Kroshus again led the way for the Tigers in 138th place with a time of 22:54, followed by juniors Emily Eynon (23:03) and Holly Huffman (24:09).

In her first taste of national intercollegiate competition, Kroshus, who is the Canadian junior record holder in the 5K, finished in the middle of the pack.

"I think she's still not ready mentally and physically," Farrell said.

Senior co-captain Kristi Rosso attributed the Tigers' poor performance to an overly crowded course.

"People were around you the whole race," Rosso said. "The chutes weren't long enough. People had to stop 30 meters before the finish line."

Grit

For example, according to coach Farrell, Eynon was far back in the pack after the first kilometer but forced her way up more than 200 places by the end.

With six of the eight Heps challengers competing at the meet, the Tigers got a feel for their chances at the upcoming championship. Brown (15th place) was the top Heps team in the race, followed by Columbia (18th). Next came Cornell in 31st and Princeton in 42nd, edging Dartmouth and Navy, who were 43rd and 46th, respectively.

At the Leopard Invitational, the women finished fourth with freshman Joan Krautman the top Tiger to cross the line in 11th place.

Both the men's and women's teams will rest next weekend in preparation for Heps, which takes place Oct. 27. The men seek their 10th straight title overall and fourth in cross country, while the women will be looking for their first in 20 years.