Men, women excel at Paul Short Run

The weekend got off to a fast start for the Princeton harriers, as both the men's and women's cross country teams had impressive showings at the Paul Short Run, held last Friday at Lehigh University. The women's squad continued its dominating season, finishing first overall, while the men placed eighth.

With its eighth place finish, the men's squad solidified its place as a legitimate contender for the NCAA District Championship. Led by seniors Eric Beights and Jonathan Charlesworth, the Tigers garnered one of their best finishes of the young season.

Beights was Princeton's top finisher, coming in 39th overall with a time of 25 minutes and nine seconds on the eight-kilometer course. Fellow senior Charlesworth finished on Beights' heels, completing the course in 25:13, good for 44th place overall.

"Although the time and place were nothing to really get excited over, I did write home about it. Furthermore it was a personal record, and I made progress in learning to break with the lead pack without going anaerobic," Beights said.

"I am definitely satisfied by my performance," Charlesworth added.

The Paul Short Run was an opportunity for the Princeton team to showcase its depth by resting its top eight finishers following its last race at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minnesota.

"We felt we could compete respectably against Ivy League competition — Penn and Columbia — without our top eight runners," Charlesworth said, "and we felt that we accomplished this goal."

Rounding out Princeton's top finishers were sophomore Bryan Sharkey, who finished in 50th place with a time of 25:15; junior Rob Grote, who finished 82nd with a time of 25:35 and freshman Jimmy Joy, the Tigers' final scorer, who finished 100th in 25:47.

Up next for the squad is the Pre-Nationals Invitational in Indiana, where the Tigers will compete against the top teams in the nation.

"Our goal for the season is to win the Ivy League Championships, the NCAA Regionals and to finish in the top 15 at Nationals," Charlesworth said.

Beights outlined his own hopes for the team. "I expect that we will continue to improve individually and as a unit. When we beat Dartmouth at the end of October, it will have been hard earned," Beights said.

Women place first

While as much success as the men experienced on Friday, the women's team was the true star of the day, completing its first place finish in a field of 35 teams. Led by senior Mia Swenson, who finished fourth overall, the Tiger squad proved to be the dominating force in the race.

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Swenson completed the six-kilometer race with a time of 20:39.

She was followed closely by freshmen Liz Costello, who finished ninth in 21:01, and Christy Johnson, who finished 11th in 21:10.

"Our freshmen ran like seasoned veterans, and Mia Swenson ran what has to be her best race of her career thus far," head coach Peter Farrell said.

With their one-point win over nationally ranked Wisconsin at the Paul Short Run, the Tigers have now won each of their last three meets.

"We're definitely pleased with the race," Swenson said. "Wisconsin is ranked ahead of us so it's exciting to have beaten them."

The Princeton runners also defeated Ancient Eight rivals Yale and Penn, which finished fifth and sixth respectively.

Also placing for Princeton were junior Caitlin McTague, who finished 15th overall with a time of 21:19 and freshman Reilly Kiernan, who came in 22nd.

"Our goals for the rest of the season are to win the Ivy League Championships, which I think we have a good chance to do," Swenson said. "I want us to qualify for nationals and then finish in the top-10 there. I know we have our work cut out for us, but I feel that we are certainly capable of all our goals."