The men's cross country team had a disappointing finish at the Paul Short Invitational this weekend, finishing in third place out of 33 teams. Individual performances, however, were promising enough to give Princeton reason to be optimistic about the rest of the season.
The Tigers' goal for the race, held at Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa., was to gain potential at-large points by beating William & Mary. Not only did the Tigers fall to the Tribe, 90-49, but they were also bested by Heptagonal rival Columbia, 90-83. Steve Sundell, a junior from Columbia, placed first individually.
Despite the disappointing team finish, individual performances leave the Tigers optimistic.
Sophomore Austin Smith placed sixth in the highly competitive field with a time of 24 minutes, 50 seconds. He was followed closely by senior Mike Baird who finished at 24:57.
"The race was the cross country breakthrough that I have been waiting for," Baird said. "I dropped about 52 seconds off my previous best time.
"Granted, Lehigh is a quick course, but I felt very strong and confident. I wish I could have finished faster over the final 1000 meters, but that kick will come as we sharpen up for later in the season."
The consistent and confident racing of Baird will be a huge boon to the Tigers, as in the past the talented senior has raced erratically and not up to his fitness level.
Freshmen James Flannery and Frank McCreery scored at three and four for the Tigers, placing 17th (25:03) and 27th (25:16), respectively overall.
A 27-second spread from the first to fifth runner was of note, and demonstrates good depth, especially compared to last season. Last November at the Mid-Atlantic regionals, held on the same Lehigh course, the lack of depth led to a large time difference between the first and fifth finishers for the Tigers and ended up costing Princeton a trip to the National Championship race.
This depth will be further bolstered by the return of junior Tristan Colangelo. Nursing injuries for the first month of the season, head coach Mike Brady ran Colangelo in the junior varsity/open race. Known for his tough racing and ability to return to fitness in a minimal time period, Colangelo proved he is fit enough to reclaim his position on the varsity top seven by winning his race with a strong kick. His time of 25:22 would have placed him near the front of the championship race.
Senior captain Jon Bell — a first team All-Ivy performer one year ago — is also returning from injury. In this weekend's race, however, Bell showed that he is not totally back to form yet, finishing substantially behind Colangelo.
"Though this weekend was a huge confidence boost for us, we know our best stuff is yet to come" Smith said. "We'll be given a tremendous opportunity to prove ourselves on the national stage in the next few weeks, and I'm not at all nervous.
"We aren't going to be awestruck and let the pressure get to us. We are going to put up in the clutch against the nation's best, and in the meantime we're only going to get fitter and sharper as we train like the hungry animals we are."
The team will continue its trek toward the Heptagonal championships, held at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City on Nov. 1, when they split next Saturday, sending half to Auburn for the Auburn Invitational and half to Philadelphia for the La Salle Invitational.
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