Spot on 'The Wall' long time coming

In an orderly row on his office wall, Peter Farrell, the head coach of women's track and field and cross country since its inception at Princeton, hangs the certificate of each All-America athlete he has ever coached. On the far left is Lynn Jennings '83, an Olympic bronze medalist who is considered the greatest female distance runner the United States has ever produced.

Farrell lists the others, most recently Emily Kroshus '04: a three season All-America honoree in her senior year, and Lauren Simmons '02: second in the NCAA 800m. He tells stories of how each runner struggled and had her ups and downs but managed to put together a stellar senior year to earn a place on the wall.

Senior distance runner Cack Ferrell already has six of those precious All-America certificates, more than any other runner in Princeton history. What makes Ferrell different, her coach says, is that there has yet to be any "down" in her Princeton career. For 12 straight seasons, Ferrell has been a reliable and magnificent performer for the Tigers.

In the words of junior Catha Mullen, "She's very consistent — she gets on the track, and no one's going to beat her. It's just an extraordinary willpower she has."

When comparing her to those on the wall, Farrell doesn't even hesitate, but simply states what he believes to be obvious: "She's the best ever."

This year has been the culmination of a remarkable ride for Ferrell. In the fall, she won her third straight All-America finish in cross country, placing 10th, her highest finish ever and leading the team to an 11th place finish nationally. In the winter, she ran the fastest double ever at the Heptagonal championships in winning the 3000m and mile races, repeating the feat she had accomplished her sophomore year and earning her second Athlete of the Meet honors. Her fourth place finish at the indoor NCAA championships in the 3000m race resulted in her third straight All-America finish in her favorite event. This spring she ran to another remarkable double at Heps, broke the school record in the 5000m race, and she's not even done yet, with NCAA regionals and nationals still on the schedule.

When Ferrell came to Princeton, neither she nor her coach expected the results that have become commonplace from the athlete who Mullen calls, "the backbone of the team." Ferrell's high school times from junior year put her at the middle of the recruiting pileup, but her times senior year had been significantly slower, prompting Farrell to think she was on a downward slide that she might not recover from.

Having never run cross country or indoor, Ferrell didn't know what to expect, and she says that took off the pressure in her freshman fall, leaving her with a lack of nervousness that has pervaded her career. She has used this composure to stabilize the team in key situations, leading the Tigers' cross country team to three NCAA championship appearances, two of them resulting in top-10 finishes.

"At nationals its easy to get nervous and psyched out, but with a leader who's so cool and confident, it helps you get rid of your nerves," Mullen said.

What makes Ferrell unique is that she keeps from obsessing over her running, something that has played to her advantage. It keeps her life balanced and her demeanor relaxed before races, and she remains almost naive with respect to her competitors. Ferrell does not ask to see the heat sheets; she says she doesn't want to know.

At her first trip to the NCAA indoor meet in her sophomore year, she could have sat in the warmup area and ogled at the runners who had run so much faster than she. Instead she went out and ran to an 11th place finish.

"A race is a race, the reason we race is to see who's fastest that day, just because person xyz has done whatever two years ago doesn't matter, or even that season," Ferrell said. "I just treat every race like I don't really care what you did yesterday or what you're going to do tomorrow, but let's just see who has it today."

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In her two return trips to the NCAA indoor meet, she went for broke in the 3000m, leading for the majority of the race before falling back to third and fourth.

"When you're at nationals I'd rather take the gamble and go for the win," Ferrell said. "I think it's more admirable to lead, than to just sit in the back and kick."

At the indoor Heps meet this winter, Ferrell wanted to do more than just take the lead. She ran over to her coach before the mile and asked what the meet record was. Farrell, who was nervous about the race's outcome, especially after the disaster the year before, when Ferrell was the easy favorite but tripped and fell, refused to tell her, saying, "Just win the race."

But Ferrell found out the meet record from someone else and went out and did what her coach had told her to do while accomplishing her own goal along the way, smashing the previous record with a 4:43.63 pace. For kicks, she returned two hours and 20 minutes later to win the 3000m in 9:17.60, earning Co-Athlete of the Meet Honors. Her combined time in the double win was the fastest ever in the history of the meet.

In addition to her racing responsibilities, Ferrell has served as captain in both track and cross country this year. Farrell says she leads by going to the line with the team, and her example of excellence and dedication is a model for her teammates.

"Being captain is stressful, but it's also certainly rewarding," Ferrell said. "Feeling like you've made an impact on freshmen coming in, just those one or two emails you get after a race or an event makes it all worthwhile."

Ferrell will leave Princeton with records at the Princeton Battlefield cross country course, the indoor 3000m and mile races, and the outdoor 5000m race.

"Sometimes I think its kind of unbelievable," Ferrell said. "It is something to run for Princeton and be in the record book with Lynn Jennings, and [then] again I still think it's like a fluke that all this happened."

Her 5000m record occurred this spring at Princeton's Sam Howell invitational, where she ran alone in the closing stages and coasted seemingly effortlessly through the entire race. Can she go faster than the 16:05 she clocked that night, which is currently the 12th fastest time in the country? Both athlete and coach are certain of it.

Farrell thinks she can definitely pop at least 15:50 this season, but Ferrell has her sights set higher. Molly Huddle of Notre Dame, a runner that Ferrell has both beaten and lost to, has the fastest time in the country this season of 15:40.

"I know if I were on the line next to [Huddle], I wouldn't want her to beat me and I'd like to say I'm confident she wouldn't beat me," Ferrell said. "I guess its reassuring to see the likes of Molly Huddle has run 15:40, because then I'm like if she can run 15:40 there's no reason I can't run 15:40."

After Nationals, Ferrell will sign a professional contract and train with an Olympic development team in Minnesota or Oregon for at least two years, until the 2008 Olympic trials. Though she's not able to speak to an agent until after the NCAA season, both teams have expressed interest, and she's given up an investment-banking job offer to pursue running.

"I've been steadily improving over four years, and I don't feel burned out — you can only run when you're young," Ferrell said. "Once I figured out it was going to be financially possible, and that a team will want me, I was like why not?"

As she moves on to bigger things, the Tigers will miss more than her reliable presence on the track.

"She's one of the most thoughtful people I know and an amazing friend," Mullen said. "I have very fond memories of all the hours I've trained with her and the times we've hung out. I'm very blessed to have her in my life."

Ashley Wolf was recruited to run for Princeton. Due to an injury, she never competed, but remains friends with members of the team and hopes to eventually return to competition.