Princeton's cross country teams are on the move again this weekend after a two-week rest. Women's and men's cross country will both be sending their top seven athletes to the Pre-National Invitational in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The remainder of the team will stay a little closer to home to take part in the Lafayette Leopard Invitational in Easton, Pa.
The cream of the crop
At Pre-Nationals, Princeton's runners will join the top athletes from most schools across the country. The race is held at the same site as the National Collegiate Athletic Association's 2003 Championship will be held at in November. In addition to previewing the course, the Tigers will get an up-close look at many of the runners they will face if they qualify for Nationals.
But if they want to have the chance to run at Nationals, Princeton must earn points this weekend.
There are two ways to get to Nationals. One way is to finish first or second in the region, earning an automatic bid. At-large bids are also available, on the basis of points earned during the season. The latter method is the most likely the means by which any Tiger will receive a bid.
Tiger runners
The women's squad will send seniors Emily Kroshus, Laura Petrillo, Rebecca Snyder, juniors Marian Bihrle, Carrie Strickland, sophomore Cack Ferrell and freshman Mia Swenson.
Princeton has impressed many people this season with its depth and, most notably, an ability to stay together as a pack. This knack has led to great success for the Tigers. Most recently, the NCAA Division I Cross Country Poll had the team ranked 23rd in the country, where it has held steady for two weeks.
Even so, the Tigers are still ranked 4th in their region, behind Villanova, Georgetown and Penn State. It is unlikely they will end up in one of the top two spots. Therefore, Princeton has been working on racking up points in the hopes of qualifying for an at-large bid.
"We're hoping to beat a lot of teams outside our region," Swenson said. "We want to get points to qualify for nationals, and we do that by beating teams."
This weekend offers the Tigers plenty of chances to do just that. The teams will be split up into two groups, so every team will get to race half of the teams.
Even if women's cross country has been turning a few heads this weekend, the Tigers themselves have not let it affect them.
"We've been getting a bit of recognition, which is nice," Petrillo said. "We want to prove that we are what's been said of us. The recognition and the rankings are nice, but it's all fluff unless you can substantiate it with results."
The men's cross country team is equally as excited for the chance to earn points. Princeton will be sending seniors Tristan Colangelo, Jon Kieliszak, junior Austin Smith, and sophomores Eric Beights, Adam Ludwig, Frank Macreery, and Ben Stern.
"This is the first time that we get to go against some nationally ranked teams," Colangelo said. "The more teams we beat, the more chance we get to go to Nationals."
Staying together
The men struggled to stay together in a group early in the season. But Princeton has improved steadily and hopes to continue the recent trend in the meet this weekend.
"We were running more individually before," Kieliszak said. "Now, we are running together and getting more points. That's going to be key this weekend. Especially with so many teams, it's real easy to just get lost."
Princeton should gain some confidence by the fact that both the men and women have faced and beaten many of the teams from their region already this season.
For instance, two weeks ago, at the Paul Short Invitational, the men took second while Villanova, which will be present this weekend, earned 11th. The women fared a little better at the Iona Meet of Champions, taking first while Villanova took 11th.
Still, early season results can be deceptive. Teams like Villanova, Georgetown and Columbia have held back many of their top runners, in order to rest them. At the Pre-Nationals, however, everyone will run. The Tigers will get an unobstructed view of their opponents.
Princeton isn't afraid of the increased competition.
"We are very excited about showing how strong our team is," Petrillo said. "Our top seven are strong and tightly packed. If [Villanova and Columbia] are in our race, we'll pack as many girls around their pack as we can. But, at the same time, we really just want to focus on running our own race."
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