Disappointing.
That's the only way to describe the women's cross country team's results in the Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet in recent years. In every event, the Tigers have performed well, coming in second three times in a row. But each of these second place finishes has meant a narrow loss to Yale, and three consecutive defeats to the Elis have been bitter pills for Princeton to swallow.
The Tigers have a chance to break this aggravating streak and claim their first H-Y-P win since 1998 on Saturday, when they travel to Cambridge, Mass., to race at Franklin Park. While the race is not very important in terms of standings, H-Y-Ps are nonetheless the biggest bragging-rights event of the season.
Things are looking up for the Tigers this year. In their past two events, they have come in first as a team, with senior Emily Kroshus leading both times.
At Princeton's first event, the Princeton Battlefield Invitational, Kroshus finished first with sophomore Meredith Lambert in second. At its most recent event, the Iona Meet of Champions in Van Cortland Park, NY, Kroshus again took first but with sophomore Cack Ferrell at her side to complete Princeton's second-straight 1-2 finish.
The Iona Meet was Princeton's first chance to race Harvard and Yale this season, as the Tigers' two rivals were part of the 18-team field. Yale's top runner, Melissa Donais, came in ninth. Harvard's fastest, senior Beverly Wayland, finished 24th. Granted there were 18 teams, but Princeton had seven runners in the top 20 while Yale had only two and Harvard had none.
Yale did manage to come in second place led by Donais and freshman Cara Kiernan in 13th. Harvard ended the weekend as the 9th ranked team. Although Yale has been doing well this season, their success has come against weaker opponents. The Elis are nowhere near the team they have been in the past. What has changed?
There are two major changes. Twins Kate and Laura O'Neill graduated in June, creating a void in the Elis' lineup that has yet to be filled. In their four years in the program, the twin stars had singlehandedly dragged Yale to the upper tier of women's cross country.
In 2002, Kate O'Neill won the Heptagonal championship meet at 3,000 meters indoors and outdoors, and fifth at the NCAA Championships at 5,000m. Sister Laura finished third at the NCAA Championships in the 10,000m while winning league championships at 5,000m indoors and 10,000m outdoors.
In comparison, Kroshus, Princeton's only runner to qualify for NCAAs for the last two years, earned fifth overall at Heps and 81st at the 2002 NCAA Championships. With the sisters gone, however, Yale is a far different team than it was last season, making the Tigers job easier.
At last year's H-Y-Ps, the O'Neills finished first and second, respectively, one second apart but 46 seconds ahead of the next runner, Princeton's Kroshus.
This year, without the O'Neills, the Bulldogs will be counting on Donais. She had a great freshman season in 2002, and with her talent she should make headlines again this year. Yale also has a rising star in the freshman Kiernan. She was the Elis' top finisher in their first meet at the Great Meadow Invitational. Senior captain Rebecca Hunter is also returning to compete for Yale and while not nearly as threatening or as skilled as the O'Neills, she does have experience to her advantage.
For Harvard, three different runners have been finishing first in its last few races. Whelan, senior Mairead O'Callaghan and sophomore Laura Maludzinski have been trading places as lead runner for the Crimson, but their efforts have still left them far behind the rest of their opponents.
Unlike their traditional rivals, the Tigers are looking lean and mean this season. Along with Kroshus, Ferrell and Lambert, other names to look out for are seniors Laura Petrillo, Pilar Marin and Kate Reid, juniors Carrie Strickland and Marian Bihrle and freshmen Claire Filloux and Mia Swenson. All have placed for the Tigers so far this season, revealing Princeton's depth.
And with a roster of 29 runners at last count, it is a very real possibility that more names are yet to be added to this list of runners to watch. The only disappointment expected to be seen this weekend will be on the faces of Yale and Harvard runners.
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