Friday, April 6, 2007, marked a new experience for then-high school senior Ashley Higginson. She woke up, ran a race and placed second by a margin of more than 10 seconds, an unusual outcome for the standout in her senior season.
But when you realize that the race was against collegiate and professional athletes from across the nation, then maybe you'll forgive her. The Sam Howell Invitational held at Princeton saw the inauguration of the next generation of women's cross country for the Tigers. Finishing the 5K race in a time of 16 minutes, 38.15 seconds, Higginson beat the entire Princeton team. The first member of the Class of 2011 had arrived, and head coach Peter Farrell was beaming on the sidelines.
Featuring five recruits from four different states, the women's cross country freshman class has been described as one of the strongest recruiting classes in the school's history. The combined resumes of Higginson and fellow freshmen Sarah Cummings, Liz Deir, Elisabeth Molen and Brooke Russell boast multiple state championships in cross country and track, three Footlocker National Finalists (top 34 in the nation) and a collection of runners that anchored their teams throughout high school. According to Farrell, this wealth of talent causes the runners to be "naturally burdened with higher expectations."
Before arriving on campus in late August, these five girls already knew each other. They had heard of each other's record times and feats and had competed against each other in national races. The freshmen now find themselves part of the No. 8 team in the nation, surrounded by a multitude of talent and determination.
In such a pressure-filled atmosphere, it's possible to stumble and fall. But not these girls. They live for the challenge and are, according to Russell, "more motivated because of all the talent on the team."
"We all used to be the top runners in our schools, and the teams and coaches counted on us to get that top finish and the lowest score in cross country," Molen added. "Here, we can have a bad day and know that there's always somebody else there to pick up the slack."
One of the biggest challenges of collegiate athletics is making the transition to college life. This is by no means an easy task, but with the help of the coaching staff and the upperclassmen, the freshmen runners seem to be turning the corner pretty smoothly.
"I can't speak for everyone with a group of this size, but I think that the hallmark of the Princeton athletic program is the support and the sense of being a team," Farrell said. "During the program's lean years and good years, we've always had great support, great group dynamics. It's natural for the freshmen to take a while to adjust to college life, and our upperclass girls are great with helping out in the adjustment process."
Almost all the runners agreed that the single biggest difference between high school and college athletics is the training environment.
"Our team is professional; all the girls are professional," Russell said. "Everybody actually comes to practice and works hard every single day."
For girls who were forced to train alone or with the boys' team, this is a welcome difference.
"[The biggest difference is] having a lot of teammates who I can train with," Molen said. "It's nice to know that on any day, there's going to be somebody right alongside of you, running and training together."
The competitive environment was a key factor when the girls decided on Princeton. Ironically, the current freshmen have begun to outrun the upperclassmen whose recent success attracted the freshmen to Princeton. Two freshmen were in the varsity top seven at the team's most recent race.
"It's very motivational to see how hard everybody trains," Cummings said. "When I was looking at colleges, I definitely wanted a school where I'd be challenged, or else I knew I'd be running the same times all the way through my career."
After its dominating win at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh, the women's cross country team jumped up five spots to No. 8 in the national rankings and maintained its stronghold on the region's top spot. In that race, Higginson and Cummings locked the win for the Tigers by crossing the line together as the fourth and fifth Princeton runners.
This weekend, the team travels to Terre Houte, Ind., for Pre-Nationals to face the most competitive field it will face this season before the NCAA championships. Somewhere out there in the pack of 500-odd runners, the freshmen Tigers will be prowling, looking to show the world what Princeton cross country is all about.
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