If you spotted eight girls walking out to the Street together, what would you think? Obviously, freshmen. But what if you heard that four women's cross-country runners placed in the top seven at last week's Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet? Without a doubt, upperclassmen.
The runners in this latter case were also from the Class of 2010, however, showing that freshmen like to travel in groups even on the race course.
The freshmen harriers have only run in two races, but they have already garnered much attention, and not just the expected ogling from senior guys. Freshmen Alexa Glencer, Liz Costello, Christy Johnson and Reilly Kiernan have consistently posted winning times, helping lead Princeton to victory. The runners are showing that they are in serious contention for the top places on the varsity squad.
"We have a lot of girls right up in front. The top seven spots are really up in the air," senior co-captain Catha Mullen said. "I feel like we've really stepped it up. The freshmen are bringing with them a lot of intensity."
In their first collegiate match, the Princeton Invitational, the freshmen busted up the home turf, with three of the first six finishers coming from the rookie class. A standout from Michigan, Glencer placed second with a time of 22 minutes, 28.30 seconds over 6.1 kilometers. Costello and Johnson placed sixth and eighth, respectively, with Johnson just 10.70 seconds off Glencer's pace.
Johnson attributes her success to stepping up her mileage from high school during summer training. She also said that she is more relaxed running college races despite the longer distance.
"There wasn't a lot of pressure because we're freshmen," Johnson said, "and our coach said that he didn't have any expectations for us at the [Princeton] Invitational. In high school, when you're the top runner, you have a lot of pressure on you. But it's much better when you have a team behind you."
Before joining the Princeton harriers, the freshmen were busy winning races right and left. Glencer was a multi-state champion in several events in Michigan so the team expected good things, but the Tigers admit that they were nonetheless pretty much blown away by the great shape she was in when she arrived.
Costello is featured on wikipedia.org for her accomplishments as a runner. She is the Pennsylvania state champion and is listed as one of Conestoga High School's Notable Former Students on the website. Kiernan set the Westchester County, N.Y. record in the 2,000m steeplechase and is excited to have some good training partners after coming from a small town. And Johnson is ready for the tough competition that her team can give her in practice after consistently leading her team at the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore.
Rounding out the rest of the Class of 2010 are Lisa Burkholder from Marlton, N.J., Mercy Chesiror from Kenya, Amanda Hudson from Bronxville, N.Y. and Ashley Schoettle from Los Altos, Calif.
"All of our freshmen are doing very well. They have definitely made an impact," Mullen said.
The squad is anticipating Chesiror's return from an injury. She is just starting to train again with the team and the Tigers are excited to see what she can do.
"She hasn't had a chance to show her stuff," Mullen said. "She just might be our secret weapon."
In addition to the Princeton Invitational, the freshmen crossed the finish line in another herd at the H-Y-P meet. Johnson and Costello finished third and fourth and Kiernan and Glencer placed sixth and seventh. Johnson finished the 5K race in 17:46.
"Typically one or two freshmen will make the top," Mullen said, "because there is an adjustment period where you bump up your training and there are all these new factors in your life. So it's pretty incredible to see this."
With the added competition for the top spots, the upperclassmen are pushing harder to stay on varsity. It's helped contribute to the depth of the team and ensure that Princeton will have a strong season this fall.
When asked for a closing anecdote about the freshmen, Mullen kept it to the point.
"They are pretty popular with the men's team," Mullen said.
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