M. cross country to rely on underclassmen to regain title

The title of bridesmaid will not be worn comfortably by the men of Princeton cross-country.

Concluding the 2001 season one position short of an automatic nationals bid, and currently "also receiving votes" in the national rankings, the team needs to step its performance up a notch to return to the position of perennial eastern power.

The collegiate cross-country season has two main foci. Firstly, the conference meet — in Princeton's case, the Heptagonal Championship — is a historic and prestigious event. For those at a more elite level, the regional championships, held two weeks later, are the national qualifying meet.

The Heptagonal conference is an antiquated league, comprised of all Ivy teams, plus the Naval Academy. Historically, Princeton has dominated the meet, but last year it was usurped by Dartmouth and barely lost to the Naval Academy.

Finishing third in a mediocre conference is not acceptable when looking to secure an automatic bid to the national championship. This automatic bid is achieved by finishing either first or second as a team in the regional championship. Prince-ton competes at the Mid-Atlantic regional, where the chief competition lies in Villanova and Georgetown, both of whom finished ahead of Princeton at last year's meet.

Barring extenuating circumstance, this year's Tigers are not at Villanova's level. The Wildcats —ranked No. 6 in the nation — boast one of the top one-two punches in the nation with sub-four minute milers Adrian Blincoe and Ryan Hayden. Georgetown, ranked No. 8 in the current poll, could improve substantially with the healthy return of All-American Franklyn Sanchez.

Princeton may have to rely heavily on underclassmen, according to senior captain Jon Bell, but that does not compromise its pre-season goals.

"Injuries have plagued us the last two years and this year we are working as hard as possible to make sure that isn't the case again," Bell said.

"Even with the injuries our team is extremely tough this year with a very talented freshman class and with sophomore Austin Smith stepping into the spotlight at our first meet. Right now we are looking to the upperclassmen to either get healthy or best their performances in the past," Bell said.

If one does not qualify automatically for the nationals by placing in the top two at the regional meet, it is possible to be selected as an at-large bid. The selection mechanism involves teams accumulating at-large points based on regular season victories over teams that qualify automatically at the regional meet.

To that end, it is necessary to travel to highly competitive meets looking for good performances against ranked teams. The most important meet in this regard for Princeton is the Pre-National Invitational held on the National Championship course in Indiana. Over 100 teams attend — everyone that harbors a secret desire or legitimate shot at making it to the dance — so a good Princeton showing is essential to accruing those coveted points.

"We hope to gain at-large points at some of the meets we travel to in the next few weeks, but since we plan on a top two [regional] finish they will likely be unnecessary," Bell said.

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"With all those factors falling into place we will be right where we want when it comes time to reclaim our Heptagonal League title on the first of November."

The Tigers line up Saturday morning at Lehigh for the Paul Short Invitational, looking to follow up their victory at the Princeton Battlefield with a strong performance against a higher caliber competition.

Bell expressed guarded optimism for the season.

"A lot is going to depend on returning injured runners and the progression of the younger guys. Practices have been phenomenal lately and it looks like many guys are ready to step in and take us to the national meet, but it will certainly require more hard work from everyone."