The women's cross country team will be competing in the NESCAC Championship race this Saturday at Amherst. While the results of the conference championship do not impact the teams' chances for Nationals, it will give the Jumbos a good indication of where they stand in a very competitive conference.
The top four teams in the NCAA Regional Championship will move on to compete in Nationals this year. Middlebury and Williams, who have dominated the season, have all but secured the first two spots. Middlebury, a school with a long record of cross-country excellence, enters the championship the top ranked team in the nation. The Panthers are going for their third consecutive conference title. Williams enters the race ranked number five in the nation.
Besides these two competitors, the Jumbos will be pitted against fellow NESCAC opponents Amherst, Colby, and Connecticut College. These are the teams that stand in the way of the Jumbos qualifying for Nationals this season. In its first match-up this season, the Codfish Bowl, Tufts fell to Amherst (49) and Colby (59) with a score of 108.
"Our focus will be on Connecticut College, Colby, and to beat as many Amherst runners as possible," sophomore Mary Nodine said. "That's our big competition."
While the Jumbos have not been able to edge out any of these teams, history shows that this has not been a factor in deterring their national goals. Last year, the Jumbos placed sixth in the NESCAC championship. Tufts finished behind Amherst, Hamilton and Colby, yet rallied in the NCAA Regional Championship to edge out Amherst by four points and win a birth in Nationals.
In these meets, the team was led by performances from graduates Cindy Manning and Caitlin Murphy. Both runners won All-American status. Stepping up to take their place are senior co-captains Leslie Crofton and Jennifer Edelmann. Both have stepped it up this season in an effort to carry the team to a spot in Nationals. The team will look to the two seniors as well as junior Heather Ballantyne as the three runners with Nationals experience. Though the team may have a difficult time qualifying, Crofton has a good chance at qualifying for nationals individually. The top nine individuals in the regional qualifier can move on, and Crofton's performance in the NESCAC's will be a good indication of where she stands amongst those nine.
The Jumbos have geared their training for these important late-season meets. The women have run more mileage, begun a serious weight-training program, and started pool workouts. These efforts have been taxing on the runners, many of whom have been dealing with small, nagging injuries. While this strategy may have sacrificed performance in the beginning races of the season, the Jumbos are hoping that the extra work will pay off in the up-coming races.
"This is a race where I really feel like we can show people what our training is going to bring us," freshman Emily Craighead said.
Craighead is a runner who has been grappling with injuries throughout the season. She began as the top freshman runner, however since has been dealing with a foot and ankle injury. She has been well on the road to recovery, finishing with the sixth best time for the team at the All-New England Championships. She has high hopes for this race.
"I hope to move up and bring my teammates with me" Craighead said.
There will be 12 girls running in the varsity race in addition to an open race. This will be the last meet where the entire team will run, and for many this marks the last race of the season.
As far as the team goals for this race, Nodine said, "I'd like the team to finish stronger than we have been. This is a warm-up for the qualifiers and our last race as a team. Everybody is looking to close the gap."
The gap, also known as the delta, is the difference in time between the team's first place and fifth place runner. Brining the women's finishes closer together will help to boost the scores of the team. This has been a struggle for the team this season.
Though the Jumbos are focusing on this race as a warm up for the qualifiers, the race does hold importance for the team.
"This race," Nodine said, "will help with the way other teams see us and boost our confidence."
