Cross Country: Princeton runners hope to defend Heps titles

Normally held at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, the race will be run on Princeton’s course at the West Windsor Fields for the first time ever. While the conference championships are only the beginning of the competitive postseason, having the opportunity to race on and defend their home turf will add a new dynamic for the men’s and women’s teams.

“This is the first year in a very long time that Heps hasn’t meant a trip to the Bronx for the race, and it’s also the first time in a while that our postseason goals are as high as they are,” said senior co-captain Donn Cabral, the defending individual champion. “Having this meet at Princeton where our friends and family can support us should help us get just as excited for this meet as in years past even though our training has been gearing us up mostly for regionals and nationals in a few weeks.”

With its eyes on yet higher goals in November, Princeton is the heavy favorite in the men’s race. Ranked ninth nationally, the Tigers are a full 19 spots ahead of Columbia, the nearest Ivy League competitor. Nevertheless, the men know well enough that with the fickle nature of cross-country racing, nothing can be taken for granted.

“On paper, we’re the best team, but everyone in the Ivy League gears up for this meet, and that’s when crazy things happen,” Cabral said. “We know there’s a target on our back, but we welcome the challenge and are excited to perform with the added pressure of being the defending conference champions.”

The Ivy League race will also give the Tigers a welcome chance to run fast times over the home course. With a more forgiving layout than Van Cortlandt, if Saturday’s pace is honest, the meet record of 23 minutes, 59 seconds could be in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, the women’s cross country team will face a much bigger challenge as it goes for its sixth straight title. Although the Tigers began the season as the favorites for Heps, they have gradually dropped in the national rankings to the point where both Cornell and Yale have surpassed them. The women will need to have a good day across the board if they are to keep the rest of they Ivy League in its place this year.

“We have a title to defend, and we have no intention of giving that up,” said senior captain Alex Banfich, who won last year’s individual race by 20 seconds. “It’s going to come down to the number of single-digit points this weekend separating teams — the field for girls is the closest it’s been in the past four years — but we’re prepared to fight for every inch, second and place.”

Without the added pressure of facing dozens of national powerhouses as they did in earlier races, the women are excited to finally shine at the smaller conference meet.

“The team cannot be more excited for Heps — unlike the big races at Wisconsin and Notre Dame, the Ivy League is a smaller, more intimate and therefore more personal race,” Banfich said. “The team could not be more prepared mentally and physically ... and the goal is to win.”

As midterms come to an end, the Tigers hope to conserve their energy as they gear up for the weekend. Before the gun goes off on Saturday for the men’s race at 11 a.m. and the women’s at noon, all the runners have to do is make sure they sleep and get in the last, token training runs.

“We’re feeling really good about our fitness and our preparation. The only question will be, how much of a toll did midterms take on us and will our guys be able to get sleep with Princetoween going on all around us?” Cabral said. “Hopefully we’ll all be rested and healthy come Saturday.”