Farrell builds a cross-country dynasty

Four years ago, I was a naive high school senior being recruited by Princeton women's cross country coach Peter Farrell. We had many phone conversations, but one in particular stands out to me. The exchange went something like this:

Coach Farrell: "We just missed nationals last year, but we're going to make it this year."

Me: "When's the last time the team went?"

Coach Farrell: "We've never been."

Immediately, I began to wonder how many years Coach Farrell had been telling recruits this. It's not like I wasn't aware the team was good, I just didn't trust his guarantee after zero experience with that level of success.

A few months later, the Tigers were not only among the 31 teams to qualify for the NCAA Championships, but they also finished ninth in the country, bolstered by the All-American performance of Emily Kroshus '04.

Peter — as his girls call him — knew what he was talking about, and I was sold.

Though I was forced by a nagging knee injury to hang up my spikes early in my Princeton career, I've kept a close eye on the team, and it's been worth watching. The Tigers have qualified for nationals every year for the past four years and are currently ranked No. 8 in the country.

A dynasty is built by a snowball effect, and no one knows this better than Peter. The better a team, the better the recruits. The better the training environment and intensity, the better the whole team becomes. For Princeton, the snowball started when Kroshus, one of the most highly touted recruits of her year, decided to enroll. She showed her teammates that competing on the national level was completely feasible, and raised standout Cack Ferrell '06 and the rest of her teammates up with her to a higher plane.

Though All-Americans Ferrell and Kroshus are gone, the girls in my class — now seniors — sometimes have trouble comprehending the extent to which the program has skyrocketed since we enrolled. We no longer have an individual runner capable of contending for the national title, but the team's strength and depth is inconceivable in comparison to past squads.

In the 5k race at the Heptagonal Championships my freshman year, our No. 7 runner crossed the line in 18 minutes, 39 seconds. Last fall, No. 7 finished in 18:05 at the same meet. To start this year, six Tigers rolled across the line of the hilly course in New York's Van Cortland Park in a pack from 18:43 to 18:45. I have it on good authority that they were not running all out, and in a sport where peaking is everything, it was the first week of September, not the end of October.

Princeton's potential was clear during its Paul Short Run win two weeks ago. In a field that boasted some of the nation's top teams, sophomore Christy Johnson led the charge across the line just 25 seconds behind the winner, NCAA champ Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech, who finished in course-record time. Four other Tigers, including two freshmen, finished within 34 seconds of Johnson to absolutely demolish the field.

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Princeton's top-scoring five were all under 21 minutes for 6k, in comparison to just one under that barrier last year. For the uninitiated, that's a 5:38 mile, repeated 3.7 times over grass and hills.

The Tigers used to thrive on athletes like Ferrell, who came in relatively unheralded but transformed into superstars. Running alongside Kroshus at the team's first NCAA meet were talented girls who dramatically improved over the years to make the Tigers' varsity squad. But Peter is now landing — in large numbers — the kind of recruits that once headed to the likes of perennial powerhouse Stanford without a glance in Princeton's direction. There are no fewer than three girls in the Class of 2011 who were Footlocker Cross Country finalists in high school, an honor bestowed on the top 34 runners in the country.

Tomorrow, the Tigers' top seven will take on the country at the Pre-Nationals Invitational, a meet where the nation's elite get a practice shot at the NCAA course in Terre Haute, Ind. Last year, Princeton had a strong pack that dominated at smaller invitationals and the Heptagonal Championships but didn't have anyone to replace Ferrell, who always posted a low number at big meets.

As a result, the Tigers' ranking plummeted after a poor showing at Pre-Nationals last season, and they finished just 23rd at NCAAs, their worst showing in their four appearances. It was a combination of girls not running up to par in a crowded field and the fact that Princeton simply had no one capable of an individual All-American finish, which is really necessary in order to be competitive at such a big meet.

This year, Princeton still has a pack, but it just might be fast enough that the whole top five is close to elite. Leading the charge are first-team All-Ivy sophomores Johnson and Liz Costello. Junior Jolee VanLeuven, a steady contributor since her freshman season, and classmate Megan Brandeland have also posted impressive times. Senior captain Caitlin McTague and freshmen Ashley Higginson and Sarah Cummings round out the varsity seven.

At the Tigers' home Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet this season, both Johnson and Costello bested Yale's Lindsey Donaldson, who finished third at last year's NCAA meet. Princeton is so deep and so fast that were I now a senior in high school, I might not even merit a phone call from Peter.

So while I doubt you're going to hop on a plane and cheer for the team's best in Indiana tomorrow, know that the rest of the squad will be competing at the Princeton Invitational at West Windsor Fields tomorrow at 10:45 a.m. Given the team's depth, even those who stay behind will be worth your while if you want to see cross country at its finest.