Coming off a ninth place national finish, the Tufts men's cross country team begins the 2000 season Saturday with a significant obstacle to overcome: the loss of three key athletes.
Last spring brought the graduation of Steve Kaye, Pete Rodrigues, and Matt Lyons, three cornerstones of the team who were often Tufts' one-two-three finishers in 1999. The departure of the trio leaves the Jumbos with a huge void to fill if they want to get to Nationals for the third straight season.
Now, the fate of the 2000 team - which starts out with this weekend's Hayseed Classic - will rest on the shoulders of a new leader, All-American David Patterson. Patterson was the Jumbos' third finisher at Nationals in Oshkosh, Wisconsin last year, coming through in 92nd place, six ahead of Rodrigues.
"We know Patterson can take us to the next level but, then again, cross country is a team sport," co-captain Adrian Wilairat said.
The first through fifth finishers for each team score at cross country meets, meaning Patterson will need plenty of backup. He may be followed by emerging runner J.R. Cruz, who powered his way to a second-place finish behind Patterson at last weekend's alumni race.
"Cruz has gotten his mileage way up," junior Jason Mann said. "He worked his butt off [over the summer] and has gotten a lot better."
Mann is another face that should cross the line early for the Jumbos. He worked his way into the top five often in 1999, including a 110th place overall finish at Nationals.
While Patterson is the team's constant and Cruz is the team's X factor, the upstart freshman runners may ultimately hold the keys to the Jumbo's fate.
"Moving [from high school to college] is a little bit of an adjustment program," coach Connie Putnam said. "New England D-III is a hotbed [for cross country]. They made a quantum leap."
Putnam expects James Lamoureaux and Michael Stanton-Geddes - both of whom finished in the top 11 at the alumni race - along with Jonathan Rosen, Matt Theodoros, Frank Gilliberti, and Ian Joseph to be factors during the season.
"We are a young team so it might be a little slow at the beginning," junior Justin Lewis said. "With the mileage they are doing now, they will come into form earlier."
Putnam also anticipates significant contributions from holdover sophomores Adam Sharp, Stephen Fiore, and Jacob Berman, juniors Benjamin Smith and Lewis, and senior Wilairat.
The team's preseason training trip to Acadia National Park and the intense training that the runners did over the summer should be helpful in the early portion of the season.
"Once you get to a certain level in cross country, you have to be running all the time," Mann said.
With a preseason ranking of 14th in the nation, the Jumbos clearly have their work cut out for them if they want to crack the top ten once again. In spite of Tufts' relatively low ranking in comparison to last year's finish, Putnam is pleased with the team's placement.
"It is very dangerous to have a team ranked high early," Putnam said "I'd rather have people think they aren't that good and then work their way up."
While some of the runners feel that they were snubbed in the preseason rankings, they hope to use the poll as motivation.
"Our early ranking is 14, so we are not getting respect from anyone," Mann said. "We are more talented than people give us credit for and we are out to prove it."
As usual, Keene State, Williams, and MIT - who are ranked one through three respectively in the first New England Coach's Association Poll - are the Jumbos' most formidable competition this season for New England superiority. However, Putnam expects Amherst, Bowdoin, and Bates to be strong players in Division III Cross Country.
"Amherst and Bates have good young teams," Putnam said. "Bates is our traditional rival and they always run well against us."
While many athletic teams deem the regular season vital, the Jumbos use it to determine and solidify the top seven for end of season meets such as the New England Championships and Nationals. "Throughout the early stages we run anyone we want," Putnam said. "At the championships we have to narrow it down to seven and we have to know who [the seven] are and why."
"Our goals are high," Wilairat said. "We will all be disapointed if we don't make it to the Nationals. Our goal is not to make it to Nationals but to place in the top seven."
While such goals might seem somewhat lofty for the young squad, Putnam remains confident that the team will continue to perform well on the national level.
"I'm not big on predictions," Putnam said. "I expect that they will meet their goals of making the NCAAs."
Saturday's third annual Hayseed Classic will take place at the home Grafton course on the campus of the Tufts Veterinary School.
