The women’s cross country team passed its first big test of the season Friday at the Notre Dame Invitational. The Tigers finished second behind Washington, the first-ranked team in the country. The men’s team also performed well, finishing 10th in the field.
Led by a fifth-place finish from senior co-captain Liz Costello, the top five runners all finished in the top 25 of the five-kilometer race.
Sophomore Alex Banfich followed Costello in 10th, and junior Sarah Cummings crossed the line three seconds later in 13th. Senior co-captain Reilly Kiernan and junior Ashley Higginson rounded out the scoring for Princeton. Kiernan is also an associate news editor for The Daily Princetonian
While the course was muddy from rain the night before the race, the pace remained quick.
“Some may have paid the price for going out too quickly, but it’s a double-edged sword, because going out more quickly also means getting out of the masses,” Costello said.
Each of the 22 participating teams could put a maximum of nine runners on the starting line. Despite the large number of runners, Tigers said they found the race less chaotic than last year’s.
Princeton defeated all the other top-ranked squads, including No. 15 Florida, No. 22 Penn State and No. 3 Florida State.
But Costello said she was disappointed with how the Tigers matched up against Washington’s top runners.
“Having their top four in front of our entire team really doesn’t sit well with me,” Costello said.
The Tigers look to break up Washington’s front pack by the end of the season.
Over the weekend, Princeton also sent three runners to the Paul Short Run at Lehigh. Junior Brooke Russell led the way with a third-place finish the women’s open six-kilometer race with a time of 22 minutes, 12 seconds. Freshmen Abby Hewitt and Lauren Zumbach finished in the top 35.
The men’s team also sent its top nine runners to the Notre Dame Invitational, where Washington surprised the field by finishing in first place. Ranked No. 22 in the country, Washington upset No. 15 Providence and No. 20 Butler. Princeton had an admirable showing, finishing 10th.
Princeton’s top three finishers were sophomores, led by Brian Leung in the sixth spot with a time of 23:58.
Junior captain Rob Speare said he was impressed with the way his teammate competed.
“Brian Leung ran unbelievably,” Speare said. “He ended up with some of the top runners in the country.”
Sophomore Donn Cabral came across the line next in 39th, and Joe Stilin followed in 63rd. Speare and sophomore Sean Wilson also scored for Princeton.
The Tigers went into the race aiming to knock off some of the top teams and secure at-large points that would help them qualify for nationals.
Their 10th-place finish didn’t earn them as many points as they had hoped, but it was not a wasted effort.
Princeton finished ahead of Notre Dame, ranked No. 28 in the country, and Penn State, a regional rival.
Speare emphasized that the team is in the midst of training, and the runners have not yet reached their peaks.
“We left something out there,” he said.
The Tigers finished a mere 30 points behind Tulsa, running well enough to keep the 11th-ranked squad in the country in their sights.
A number of the younger runners had breakout performances at Paul Short. Freshman James Webb broke 25 minutes to lead the Tigers, and sophomore Max Kaulbach crossed next in 25:06. The team finished 24th in the invitational.
The Tigers are focused on improving their speed over the next few weeks to prepare for Ivy League Championships and the Regional meet.
“The mileage is in the bag,” Speare said, “but we need to start getting ready to race.”
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