Cross Country: Road to four-peat begins in New York

Three titles, three years: a rather impressive mark for the elder members of the men’s and women’s cross country teams. But as the Tigers look to win the Ivy League title for the fourth consecutive year, they can’t rely on the work they’ve already done.

This Friday, the Tigers will run in their first championship meet of the season at the annual Ivy League Heptagonal Championships. When the teams travel to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, they will aim to reaffirm their dominance in the Ancient Eight.

For the No. 7 women’s team, this shouldn’t prove too difficult. Senior captain Liz Costello shattered the Heps record last fall with a time of 16:59.9 on the 5K course, and the Tigers took the first, second, third, fifth and sixth spots for a first-place score of 17.

Two weeks ago, Princeton had an impressive showing at Pre-Nationals, coming in third in a formidable field of 37 teams. Head coach Peter Farrell is confident that the women can repeat their success from last year.

“We’re the favorite, that’s clear,” he said. “This is a very experienced team.”

The men’s team, on the other hand, has a smaller margin for error. Last year, the Tigers edged out Columbia, which was a mere three points behind. And as junior captain Rob Speare pointed out, Columbia poses a threat to the Tigers this year.

“They run that course all the time, and they have a very tight pack that’s difficult to break up. Every year, they run a fast and smart race,” he said.

The men’s team may be relatively young, but two of its strongest runners, Speare and sophomore Brian Leung, return with experience under their belts. And many of this season’s top scorers are new to the cross country lineup, including sophomores Donn Cabral, Joe Stilin, Sean Wilson and Trevor Van Ackeren.

Juniors Mark Amirault and Hudson Andrews have had impressive seasons so far. Both dealt with injuries as underclassmen, and now they’re making their mark with impressive performances.

“Mark was hurt for about 18 months — that’s like torture,” Speare said. “Now he’s healthy, and he’s in a position to really do some damage.”

“[Andrew was] in the hurt box for the past two years, and now he’s running through it,” Speare added. “It’s unbelievable.”

The women’s team hasn’t had problems with injuries lately, though some runners have fended off bad colds in recent weeks. “Some of the athletes have demonstrated flu-like symptoms,” Farrell said, but most of the team is “fairly healthy” now. The main issue heading into Heps, rather, is that the Tigers haven’t gone all-out yet.

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

“We haven’t hit on all cylinders,” Farrell said.

Heps has always been a unique race in the cross country season, as the course consists of prairie-like flats and rolling hills, including the challenging Cemetery Hill in the men’s five-mile race.

“The hills really are like a rollercoaster,” Costello said. “They have railroad ties laid out, to keep gravel from falling down. You’re coming down at a pretty quick speed, so you have to make sure not to trip on them.”

This year, the competitors will face a new twist: The course has been rerouted because parts of Van Cortlandt Park are under construction. Runners will spend less time on the flats before they hit the back hills, and the finish is now longer.

The Princeton runners have seen the changes at Van Cortlandt. The teams ran there in their first meet of the season, and they have traveled to the park to practice several times. The hilly terrain also works in Princeton’s favor.

“I think the hills are to our advantage … The hills will determine who are the strongest teams,” said Steve Dolan, the head coach of the men’s cross country team.

Dolan, however, was cautiously optimistic about his team’s chances at taking the Heps title. “It’ll take our best race,” he said.

Though the women’s team is a heavy favorite, the runners are anything but complacent. “Even though our ranking is higher than some of the Ivy League teams,” Costello explained, “I’ve definitely learned that you can take nothing for granted.”