Cross Country: A light-footed legacy

The women’s cross country team has large shoes to fill. Peter Farrell has trained some astounding athletes in his 33 years as the team’s head coach. Since its first competition in 1978, Princeton has captured seven Heptagonal Championship titles, including the last four.

Luckily for the Tigers, runners like the Cummings sisters are here to carry on Princeton’s legacy. Senior co-captain Sarah Cummings and her freshman sister Marisa have kept — and appear poised to continue to keep — the Tigers’ tradition of excellence alive.

Despite their now-impressive records, the Cummings sisters did not start their careers on the track.

“Marisa and I both grew up competitive figure skating,” Sarah explained. “Skating kept us very busy, and we didn’t have time for much else.”

Oddly enough, it was Marisa who pushed the pair into running. When Sarah was a sophomore in high school, her sister urged her to run a Halloween 5K with her for fun.

“It was definitely a spur-of-the-moment decision,” Sarah noted. “I ran only because I didn’t have anything else going on that day.”

Sarah’s second-place performance in the race caught her high school coach’s attention. Soon, running took a leading role in Sarah’s life.

“After [the 5K] the cross country coach at my high school called me up and asked me to come to practice,” Cummings said. “The next day I attended practice even though I was so sore I could barely walk.”

She proved to be a natural — two weeks after joining the team she ran in the California State Championships. By her junior year in high school, Sarah had dropped figure skating altogether in favor of her newfound talent. Marisa soon followed suit.

“I started running my freshman year of high school, mostly because Sarah was on the team,” Marisa said. “I was also a competitive figure skater, but I realized that my passion was distance running.”

Although they were born three years apart, the sisters are varsity teammates. In fact, Marisa is the only freshman on the varsity roster.

“Having [Marisa] here this year has been amazing,” Sarah said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better cross country season.”

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And Sarah has had some remarkable seasons. The Tigers have taken the Ivy title every year since her freshman year. Still, she said, racing with Marisa has been her collegiate highlight.

“Prior to this season, my favorite cross country moment at Princeton was when we took first through fifth at the Ivy League Championships last year,” she noted. “Now I would have to say it is racing together with Marisa. Stepping the line together at Penn State was a very memorable moment.”

Marisa shares her sister’s sentiments. The pair has managed to walk the fine line between teammate and sibling.

“As the little sister, I know that Sarah is always looking out for me, but she is also there to give me an extra push when I need it,” Marisa said.

And Sarah has pushed her well. Marisa has consistently placed among the top Princeton finishers. On a team that has long led the Ivy League, this is no small feat.

“[Marisa] has scored at two meets, which is extremely hard to do as a freshman,” said Sarah. A runner must finish among her team’s top-five competitors in order to contribute points.

Although cross country athletes run individually, the sport still requires teamwork. Junior Alex Banfich says Sarah’s influence spreads beyond her younger sister.

“Seniors like Sarah are great resources to ask about past experience,” Banfich said. “Younger runners definitely follow in the footsteps — pun intended — of the older, more experienced runners.”

When she isn’t giving advice, Sarah leads by example. The co-captain has advanced to NCAA competition since her freshman year. Additionally, she was named First Team All-Ivy as a sophomore and junior. More recently, Sarah placed first at the 2010 Harvard-Yale-Princeton Meet and second at the Spiked Shoe Invitational. Her individual performances have helped push Princeton’s team to the No. 18 national ranking.

Unfortunately for the team, Marisa sustained an injury at last Saturday’s Pre-National meet. With a four-to-six-week recovery time, the younger Cummings will not be able to compete again this season. Nevertheless, the sisters will still compete side by side in the indoor and outdoor track seasons, carrying on the Princeton running — and family — legacy.