Men's cross country's Smith looks to national stage

Ask junior Austin Smith what he enjoys most about being a part of the Princeton cross country team, and he'll give you a straight answer.

"The chicks are skinny and fine," he confided.

Smith has been an exciting figure for cross country in his three years here. He came here from Midlothian, Va. where he helped his high school win its first ever state championship his senior year as captain by placing first in the two-mile. He was ranked 19th nationally his senior year and helped bring Midlothian High School to an all-time high of 15th nationally.

As a freshman, he came down with influenza, which put him out for most of the season. Its impact left an imprint over the rest of the season, although Smith attributes his performance to a lack of awareness of himself and motivation.

"When I first came here, I didn't know what to expect of myself. I was just a bright-eyed kid and was like, 'I guess I can be all right.' I didn't really expect to do a lot of stuff," Smith said.

But last year as a sophomore, Smith shocked his opponents by coming to the forefront of Princeton cross country. That's no easy task when the team has nearly 50 athletes, easily one of the largest teams in Division I men's cross country. Going from a nameless entity to finishing first among his teammates and 13th overall at the NCAA Regionals was not an easy step.

Although Smith knows that he made amazing strides his sophomore year, he acknowledges that there was definite room for improvement.

"I enjoyed some success during my sophomore cross country season, but I didn't really accomplish what I wanted accomplished," Smith said.

That year, he nearly ran himself ragged.

"I felt so fresh every day. Even on easy days, I would run my ass into the ground because I felt so [expletive] good," Smith said. "I felt like I'd be screwing myself over if I didn't go all out. Unfortunately, my body couldn't keep up, and I ran out of gas by the middle of winter."

Despite a lag in what he calls his "breakthrough season," Smith wishes to point out that most of his present-day success he owes to past errors.

"I've definitely made mistakes along the way. [But] the frustration only made me want to succeed all the more, so this summer, I trained like a stud," he said. "I'm so much stronger than I've ever been at this point of the year, and I'm extremely pumped about our team's chances of bringing back the Orange and Black to the national scene in full effect. If I had to make the same mistakes, I'd do it all over again."

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Over the summer is when Smith really feels a cross country runner is really tested.

"The summertime is when you put in all your miles," he said. "It's the big base-building period Getting the summer miles is the most key part, and it takes a lot of sacrifice and dedication to get out there in the heat. My usual summer mileage is like 70 and this summer, I was up to 100 miles weekly.

"I worked my backside off, and I'm really hoping again that if I stay really healthy that things will fall right into place."

Smith also was quick to avoid a mistake many runners make during their first couple of years.

"I didn't really build up my mileage with a big huge move [my freshman year], which a lot of people do. They think, 'Well, the more miles I run, I'll get really good.' I wanted to take it more gradually, and I think it ended up paying off as I've been injury free since coming to Princeton," he said.

The junior is optimistic about his chances this fall.

"Running is all about learning about your body. What it can handle, what you respond to better in terms of training. It's also so key in long distance running that you be patient," he said. "Wait for yourself to develop. You can't get good overnight. You have to run miles upon miles for a long, long time before you ever see it pay off big time."

To prepare for this season, Smith had to work hard and take into account all the lessons learned from his first two years.

"I feel that my initial dreams that seemed so lofty at first now seem very attainable. I think I made a good breakthrough last year, and I figured if I make the next logical improvement, I could really make some noise in the national scene."

And if all goes well for Smith this season, that noise could be deafening.