Cross Country: Tigers tops at Pre-Nationals

The women, winners of their 2007 Pre-Nationals race, faced pre-race favorite No. 3 Florida State for the second time this season. At the Notre Dame Invitational, FSU beat Princeton, 88-124, but this past weekend, the Tigers and Seminoles ran toe-to-toe, tying for first place out of 39 teams, each scoring 89 points.

The large field of nearly 281 competitors worked to Princeton’s advantage. Though FSU’s Susan Kuijken won the race in course-record time, its fifth runner was only 43rd. Princeton’s five scorers, by comparison, all finished in the top 30.

But the Tigers also had a star near the top.

“I think a big part of that was the reemergence of [junior] Liz Costello,” head coach Peter Farrell said. “It was great to see Liz back up front where she belongs.”

Costello, the defending Ivy League individual champion, fell ill and finished a disappointing 50th at the Notre Dame Invitational, failing to score in the team’s top five. Having regained her health for Pre-Nationals, she finished fifth in a competitive field with an impressive time of 20 minutes, 24.1 seconds over six kilometers.

“After last year’s success, this past weekend’s performance was not a surprise,” Costello said. “Even though we haven’t beaten Florida State, I think it’s actually a preferable situation because it will help us maintain an aggressive attitude.”

There is no tiebreaker in NCAA cross country for non-qualifying meets. In the event of a tie, however, the win is typically awarded to the team with the best sixth runner. Senior Jolee VanLeuven, sixth for the Tigers, was 33rd overall. In contrast, FSU’s sixth runner was 91st. This would have given Princeton the win in a championship format.

Princeton took advantage of a fast early pace. After one mile, the girls were almost 15 seconds ahead of their pre-race strategy. Runners often pay for a quick start with fatigue late in the race. By running close to their teammates, the Tigers avoided falling apart in the final kilometer.

“Coach Farrell told us to focus on picking people off during the last 1,000 meters,” said senior captain Megan Brandeland, who finished second for the Tigers.

Demonstrating their impressive conditioning, the Tigers not only hung on, but even moved ahead over the course of the race. Brandeland, who was 30th at the mile marker, improved to finish 15th overall with a strong finishing kick.

Sophomore Ashley Higginson and freshman Alex Banfich ran together the entire race, finishing within a second of each other at 22nd and 23rd, respectively. Junior Reilly Kiernan, returning from injury, was the Tigers’ fifth and final scorer. She continued her impressive comeback by placing 28th overall. Kiernan is also a senior writer for The Daily Princetonian.

The men’s team did not race at Pre-Nationals, electing instead to race on its home course in preparation for the Mid-Atlantic Regionals, to be held at Princeton on Nov. 15 at West Windsor Fields. The men had a strong showing, finishing first out of 13 teams with a score of 62.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Senior Michael Maag, who had an outstanding race at Notre Dame two weeks ago, nearly broke the 24-minute barrier for the second-consecutive meet. He won the race with a time of 24:07.8, a time he could improve against tougher competition.

Once again, Princeton benefited from strong freshman contributions. Brian Leung finished second for the team and sixth overall. Brian Wilson was the fifth scorer, finishing in 31st place.

Senior Cameron Marantz was third for the Tigers, barely missing a top-10 finish. Sophomore Rob Speare finished 14th overall. Both runners ran personal bests for the course and the eight-kilometer distance.

“We did a great job working together in the early stages of the race,” Marantz said. “We are not quite where we need to be yet, but it was a great stepping stone into the championship season.”