Harriers 11th at Pre-Nats

On Saturday morning, the men's cross country team stepped up to the line alongside more runners than it had all season long. The Pre-Nationals field contained a larger number of competitors than any other meet the Tigers had run in so far this year, but neither the size nor the competitiveness of the field fazed Princeton. As was to be expected, the harriers in the "White" race burned the opening moments after the gun was fired, but the Tigers didn't back down — they welcomed the challenge with open, long and powerful strides.

Senior captain Frank Macreery got out to a blazing start, running just a little off the pace of the lead pack, and things only improved from there. Working his way up gradually after a taxing opening stretch, Macreery passed runners a handful at a time all the way to his 24-minute, 13-second finish in the 8,000-meter run, a time which put him in 18th place. His effort contributed to the team's 11th-place finish out of a field of 34 teams.

"Everyone was taxed; it was really hard to move forward," Macreery said. "I was just picking off guys, moving up a little bit at a time."

The start of the race was a fast-paced scramble for good position.

"We wanted our lead runners to get out to competitive positions, around the top 25 percent of the runners in the race," assistant coach Stephen Dolan said. "We wanted the rest of our runners to be in the top half and to move forward from there. We didn't want to get caught in the back after the start of the race."

After the blazing start, the runners settled into the rhythm of the race and attempted to move up through the pack systematically.

Though Princeton wasn't accustomed to such an extreme start, the Tigers didn't let that deter them in their quest for a top-10 finish. In the end, Princeton fell just short of its goal, but there was a lot about which to be positive.

"I was very pleased in general," Dolan said. "We ran on a national course and beat some nationally-ranked programs and Ivy League competitors."

The Tigers easily outpaced Ivy League rivals Columbia (18th), Yale (28th) and Harvard (32nd). Dartmouth finished fifth in the "Blue" race, which was run before Princeton's race.

Though the Pre-Nationals race was run on a grass course with rolling hills, it was a fairly fast course. The national field was split up into two equally competitive races — the Blue race and the White race.

Another bright spot for the Tigers was sophomore David Nightengale. Nightengale finished 31st in the race, only 13 seconds behind the lightning-quick Macreery.

Strong performances from sophomore Justin Pines and freshman Michael Maag also highlighted the meet. Pines finished 85th in 25:02, and Maag finished 97th in 25:11.

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There was also an open race at the Pre-Nationals meet in which each college was allowed to run five extra runners. Sophomore Frank Tinney turned in a very strong performance for Princeton in his first race back from injury, and freshman Bryan Sharkey also ran well in the open race. The five members of the open race will rejoin their Tiger brethren in a single race at Heptagonals, the Ivy League championship.

'Heps' will be run in two weeks, where Dartmouth will be the team to beat. The Princeton players proved Saturday, though, that they are ready for the challenge.

"We should be feeling pretty well about the race in two weeks," Sharkey said. "We're going to start to peak for these races, so our legs will feel that much stronger."

With the season winding down, the Tigers look prepared for their final tests, the ones that will ultimately define the season for Princeton.

Maag, who had a breakthrough race Saturday, feels upbeat and is optimistic about the Tigers' chances in the upcoming Ivy League championship.

"If we just keep doing what we've been doing, race smart and get a couple of breaks down the stretch, I feel like we'll be in a great position to win."