Ferrell All-America Again

During crucial moments in sports, there are those who perform and those who choke. In the most important race of the season, the women's cross country team proved to be the former, exceeding the expectations of many in the running community by finishing a higher-than-predicted 11th.

Led by three-time All-American senior Cack Ferrell, Princeton took 11th after being ranked 13th at the NCAA Championships on Monday in Terre Haute, Ind.

Ferrell finished the six-kilometer course in 20 minutes and four seconds, good for 10th place overall. Also putting in outstanding performances for the Tigers were junior Catha Mullen, who finished 62nd in 20:48, junior Mia Swenson (122nd, 21:19), freshman Jolee van Leuven (141st, 21:28) and senior Suzanne Andrews (170th, 21:48).

Four teams that had beaten the Tigers at some point during the season — Baylor, Boston College, Wake Forest and Ivy League champ Columbia — all finished behind Princeton in the biggest race of all.

"We mapped out a strategy the night before, of what time each person should run for us to place the highest," head coach Peter Farrell said. "And each girl was right around their projected time. Nobody put in a low-par performance. They didn't succumb to the pressure."

According to Farrell, once the results were announced the team was "glowing," and could not have been happier with their performance.

The Tigers were especially pleased to gain a little revenge on Columbia, who narrowly defeated Princeton for the Ivy League title three weeks earlier. According to Ferrell, the team was anxious as the scores were announced in reverse order, starting with 30th place. When Columbia's name was announced before Princeton, the team had to restrain themselves from cheering.

"We were thrilled," Ferrell said. "Of the teams that had beaten us before, Columbia was the one we really wanted to get."

For Ferrell, who finished 20th and 22nd at the last two Championships, her 10th place finish this year was especially rewarding.

"This year, it wasn't so much about being All-American," she said. "I am extremely honored to be one, but this year I wanted to finish top-10 and show that I can run with the best in the country."

Ferrell stayed with the race leaders for much of race, recording the same 3K split as the eventual race winner. But though she finished 10th, she has no regrets about how she ran the race.

"I ran with the lead pack, and I feel good about it," she said. "I tried to run my best, and that's what I did."

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Though it was her last collegiate cross country race, Ferrell said she was not nostalgic or sad, since she still has indoor and outdoor track to don the orange and black.

"Then again," she said, "the race hasn't really set in yet."

For the rest of the team, Nationals was the cap to a successful season. Princeton's finish is not only indicative of its clutch performance but also of the hard work that has been poured into the season.

"It's really the culmination of a great year," Farrell said.

Macreery All-America

Though men's cross country did not qualify as a team for Nationals, two individuals, senior Frank Macreery and sophomore David Nightingale, earned invitations based on their performances at Regionals.

Macreery ran the 10k race in 30:25.9, good for 46th overall. He was the 28th American-born finisher, earning him All-America status, which honors the top 30 American finishers. Macreery is only the fourth male Princeton runner to earn this honor.

Nightingale finished 89th overall, in a time of 30:54.1.

"Our goal was to run in the top half of the race and to have a shot at All-American," head coach Steve Dolan said. "I'm very proud of both of them. Dave had a great race for his first time at Nationals and performed well for only being a sophomore."