The Tiger harriers made sure to have a rousing housewarming party for themselves. Inaugurating a new course on campus with their first race of the season, Princeton's cross country team showcased the type of performances that will make the Tigers a threat to take any meet. Judging by the results of the Princeton Invitational, these runners definitely like the feel of racing at home.
Overall, the men's team finished second with a score of 41, a clear cut above third place Villanova's 64, and bested only by No. 6 Iona's meet-low 21. The women, meanwhile, more than held up their end of the bargain by securing their first win of the season with a meet-low score of 31.
Princeton's harriers demonstrated admirable consistency, strong performances from returning veterans and illuminating shows by several newcomers.
On the women's side, freshman runner Alexa Glencer placed second with a time of 22 minutes, 28.30 seconds on their 6.1 kilometer run. She managed to hold off Iona's Emmily Chelenga during the tense stretch run towards the finish to secure her place.
Meanwhile, fellow rookie Liz Costello placed sixth. They are part of an outstanding new recruiting class which includes Princeton's third-best runner on the day, freshman Christy Johnson. While dominant performances by freshmen are usually surprising, perhaps it should be expected with this group of runners. The women's team is approaching unprecedented heights of success that make the program increasingly attractive to top-quality harriers. The Tigers have now enjoyed three straight years of being ranked in the Top-20 nationwide.
The men enjoyed quite a bit of success themselves. A group of four Princeton runners — sophomore Brett Campfield, junior David Nightingale, sophomore Michael Maag and junior Justin Pines — all finished barely under the 25:34 mark on the eight-kilometer run. Their effort earned them places six through nine, with senior captain Paul Rosa just behind them in 11th.
Assistant Coach Steve Dolan praised the efforts of his team.
"The guys were extremely motivated over the summer ... and trained extremely hard," Dolan said.
The time the Tigers devoted to conditioning and speed this summer has clearly paid off. Although the coaches were not expecting the best performance from their runners since the Princeton Invitational is their first true competition in several months, the team impressed them with its stamina and discipline.
"It was one of our goals to have a group of guys finish together," Dolan said.
The runners were clearly able to execute the plan as desired. One reason may have been the familiarity of running on the school's own course. The team's ability to practice on the course and get a feel for how it ought to be run was no doubt a valuable asset during the meet. The harriers' knowledge led to their having a group of four men finish at almost exactly the same time.
Among the four who finished early on, David Nightingale is certainly the most recognizable name. Nightingale is the leader of a terrific junior group, and qualified for the NCAA Championships last year in his sophomore season. Now as an upperclassman, he must assume the mantle of veteran leadership and leave behind the role of young prodigy.
"Dave is the leader of a very good group of guys in that junior class ... he has a really good sense of what it takes to compete nationally," Dolan said.
Coach Dolan also singled out Rosa for having an outstanding performance, finishing at 25:44.60.
"Paul had a very good race, and he had a good summer," Dolan said.
As captain, Rosa has the responsibility and the privilege of being the leader for a very promising team heading into a very promising season. The team is anchored by a strong junior class which, besides Nightingale, features juniors Frank Tinney, a top-five finisher at Heps and the district meet last year, and Pines, a consistent top-seven runner for the Tigers.
The underclassmen certainly don't let the team down, either. Michael Maag had a superlative freshman year, finishing 10th at the USA Junior Cross Country Championships. As if that wasn't enough, Princeton has recruited a bumper crop of prospects for the Class of 2010. The group is headlined by Ben Sitler, a freshman from California who was seventh at last year's Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals.
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