Cross Country: Men beat weather, repeat at Heps

Competing in one of the most intense Heptagonal Championships in history, the men’s cross-country team ran away with the Ivy League title on Oct. 29 at the West Windsor fields. Powering through some of the worst weather conditions imaginable, the Tigers displayed their toughness, persevering over the 8K distance to repeat as team champions.

Drenching rains had turned the course into a mud pit overnight, and by the time the gun went off at 11 a.m. temperatures had dropped to the mid-30s. During the race, freezing rain turned to sleet and then snow. To make matters worse, strong winds battered the entire course. More than a test of fitness, the race became a trial of guts, perseverance and who could stay on their feet around the slick turns.

“I thought [the race] was very good,” head coach Steve Dolan said. “Those are really tough, tough conditions to compete in and you really have to stay focused. The guys were really tough.”

Unwilling to make any risky moves, the field got off to a slow start as they trod through the first two miles in over 10 minutes. The tight packing only made staying up harder, as runners took each other down along the slippery route.

“The meet started out pretty conservative,” senior co-captain Donn Cabral said. “The plan was to run a five-minute pace for the first half and then give them hell for the last half.”

Indeed, four kilometers into the race the pace started to drop as the front-runners began to hammer. Driving through the fast-falling snow, Cabral, Columbia’s Kyle Merber, Dartmouth’s Ethan Shaw and Brown’s Dan Lowry separated themselves from the rest of the field. With 400 meters left, Merber made a big move for the win, only to be outsprinted down the final straightaway as Shaw collared him at the line to take first in 24 minutes, 47.6 seconds, edging Merber’s 24:47.7.

Merber was later taken to the University Medical Center at Princeton for hypothermia.

Struggling to kick hard over the last 100 meters, a cold Cabral nabbed Lowry for third, finishing in 24:58.0. Showing similar competitive intensity, the rest of the Tigers’ top five came from behind over the last kilometer to finish with 37 points, 14 fewer than second-place Columbia.

“It was very close [with Columbia] the whole way, so you never know, it was about who could finish the strongest,” Dolan said. “Fortunately our guys really competed great in that last stretch to give themselves a shot.”

In the end, all five of Princeton’s scorers placed in the top 12, as Cabral, senior Peter Maag, and sophomore Tyler Udland were among the first seven to earn first-team All-Ivy honors. Sophomore Chris Bendtsen and freshman Matt McDonald made the second All-Ivy team.

While the men’s race conditions were miserable, by the time the women ran an hour later, the course was nearly unrunnable.

“We couldn’t even see the start line when we got there — it was completely covered,” senior captain Alex Banfich said. “At that point we knew that this is what it is, but we were definitely not prepared for all the snow. It was a bit of a surprise.”

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Charging through the frozen slop and slush of the 6K course, No. 29 Cornell set up a strong presence at the front of the pack from the start that it would never relinquish. Normally a team that likes to push the second half of the race, the Tigers were unable to catch up to the Big Red in the wintery conditions. Princeton finished third behind Cornell and Columbia in the overall team standings, relinquishing the Ivy League title for the first time in six years.

“Because the conditions were so terrible, wherever you got out in the first 200 meters was pretty much where you stayed throughout the race,” Banfich said. “With the snow, it was just really hard to move around people.”

Running a strong race up front for the Tigers, Banfich strained to defend her 2010 title, which she won by 20 seconds. As the individual race progressed, a trio of Banfich, Columbia’s Waverly Neer and Dartmouth’s Abbey D’Agostino broke away and battled each other to the line. In a close finish, D’Agostino took the title in 21:58.2, with Neer three seconds back in 22:02.7. Banfich followed closely in third, coming in two seconds behind Neer in 22:04.9.

“Individually, I’m obviously a bit disappointed — especially after having won last year — but I don’t have any regrets. I put it all out there, “ Banfich said. “Honestly, I’m just so proud of everyone for giving it their best. The cards didn’t fall in our favor this time, but I don’t see it as a failure at all.”

After the hardship and adversity of Heps, both the men and women were happy to have a week of fall break to sleep, train and recover. The Tigers’ next race is the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on Nov. 12 at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, where they will hopefully see more pleasant racing conditions.

“All our frostbite has thawed, and now getting back into the school routine and getting after it at Maryland, Eastern Shore will be good,” Banfich said. “Everyone is ready to race.”

The men will look to build upon their success this season as they try to qualify for the national meet. While the No. 9 Tigers are the favorites heading into Regionals, other teams like No. 13 Villanova, No. 23 Georgetown and Navy can not be underestimated. Nevertheless, Princeton’s depth should carry the team through to the next round.

“We really have a number of guys running well, a bit like interchangeable parts, so we could have 10 or 12 guys run well at Regionals or Nationals if we needed,” Dolan said. “It’s exciting to see that type of depth.”