Hunt on for replacement cross country course

If history has shown one thing, it is the certainty of change. For Princeton's cross country runners, then, it is not surprising that historic Princeton Battlefield Park will no longer be their home course.

While the Tigers have been running meets at the park since 1992, the New Jersey State Department of Parks and Recreation has decreed that the Tigers cannot hold competitions there any longer because of its historical significance.

The Princeton women's teamwon the last meet held at the Battlefield against Harvard and Yale. Junior Cack Ferrell won the race, appropriately ending the last meet the Tigers would run there with a record 17:12 for the five-kilometer course.

Princeton runners seem to have mixed reactions about leaving the Battlefield, which winds through some of the most scenic spots in the Princeton area, for a new site.

"In terms of the course itself, it's not the greatest course [from a runner's perspective]," Ferrell said.

Senior men's cross country runner Austin Smith took a different view.

"It's a shame we can't duke it out on the Battlefield anymore, Smith said, "I really enjoyed opening up the school year with a rust-busting five-miler in front of the rowdy home crowds of about 10 parents and seven students. The slightly downhill finishing straightaway was second to none."

The search for a new site is already on.

"We really have not made any decisions at this point," assistant men's cross country coach Steve Dolan said. "We are certainly looking to explore all our options."

Dolan noted that a possible new course location may be the West Windsor Fields, citing the grassy areas and established trails.

"That area shows potential, but a lot of work would need to be done to improve the trails," Dolan said.

Smith, though he is a senior, commented that he would like to see a course on the Springdale golf course adjacent to the University, or on the Sarnoff property on Route 1 by Washington Road.