Women's cross country attempts to crack top three in strong field at Heps

Women's cross country has set its hopes high for Saturday's Heptagonal Championships.

"I don't want to suggest a placing," sophomore Emily Kroshus said, "but if we all run to our capabilities, the result will surprise people."

Head coach Peter Farrell was more specific.

"The goal is always to win the Heps," he said, "but my expectation is top three."

The Heptagonals will be held at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y., with all eight Ivy League schools plus Navy competing.

After a strong 12th-place showing at Pre-Nationals Oct. 13, the Tigers are confident of their chances — not just to improve upon last year's seventh-place finish, but to finish near the top.

The team has been resting this week, tapering off after some hard workouts last week that included a practice run at Van Cortlandt last Saturday.

"Van Cortlandt is a great course because it's tough and unforgiving," senior Emily Eynon said, "and therefore it usually brings out the best in those who are true competitors.

"Peter's taking care of readying us physically and it's up to us to prepare mentally," she said. "I think we're ready."

The team will need to be ready tomorrow with such a talented field. Yale, Cornell, and Columbia have all been ranked in the top 25 nationally at some point this season, and Farrell's guess is that at least six Ivy schools, including Princeton, fall somewhere in the top 35.

It will be tough for any team to keep No. 21 Yale from repeating last year's first-place finish. But No. 23 Cornell could do it — the Big Red has already come in ahead of the Elis once this fall, at the Sept. 29 Iona Meet of Champions, also at Van Cortlandt.

Yale and Cornell aside, the team results are harder to predict. Columbia has enjoyed a number of strong finishes so far this year, and Dartmouth was right behind Yale at the Meet of Champions. Brown will probably not repeat last year's second-place finish — the Bears graduated star runner Sara Tindell, who finished first at last year's Heps and set a new course record — but will be competitive nonetheless.

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So where does Princeton fit into this pack?

Judging by its performances so far against Ivy League opponents — at HYPs and Pre-Nationals — the Tigers should compete well with Columbia, Dartmouth, and Brown, and Cornell and Yale are not totally out of their league.

"I'm very excited about prospects for Friday," Farrell said. "I don't think this team is totally tapped yet. We have some younger runners who are still learning how to compete.

"We also have some seasoned veterans who keep stepping up — the one-two punch of Kroshus and [senior Catherine] Casey."

Kroshus and Casey will have some tough competition as they vie for top spots. Yale's All-American twins, Kate and Laura O'Neill, should be a dominant force.

Columbia's Caitlin Hickin, Brown's Angie Morey, and Cornell's Lena Matthews, all coming off impressive finishes at Pre-Nationals, will also be strong contenders.

Along with Kroshus and Casey, Eynon, senior Holly Huffman andsophomore Rebecca Snyder have rounded out the Tigers' top five so far this year. To place well as a team in such a competitive race will require not just two, but five strong individual performances.

"The key is getting our three, four and five runners to finish close together, and high in the pack," Kroshus said.

Other top runners in tomorrow's field will include Columbia's Trish Nolan and Melissa Stellato; Dartmouth's Nicole Kelleher and Lara Niell; Yale's Amanda Brewster; and Brown's Kim Thalmann, who finished second at last year's Heps.

The Heptagonal Games Association, a precursor to the Ivy League, was founded in 1935. The name refers to the original seven members — Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, Yale, Penn, Princeton and Dartmouth. Navy joined in 1943 and Brown in 1949. Army also participated from 1943-1993.