The Women's cross country team sprinted out of the gates in its first meet this season, taking second place overall at the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday. The Jumbos put three runners in the top six and had a solid pack, with 13 runners finishing within 1:20 of one another.
"I would say that it was generally a mixed performance," sophomore Anna Shih said. "There were some people on the team who did very well and a few who were disappointed with how they raced."
Sophomore Catherine Beck (18:25) led the way for the team, taking second overall in the race. Junior Raquel Morgan (fifth, 18:36) was second for the Jumbos, followed closely by freshman Katie Rizzolo (18:40) who managed a sixth place finish in her first collegiate race.
"I thought both Raquel and especially Catherine Beck had a great race," coach Kristen Morwick said. "[Rizzolo] was a little bit of a surprise but she put in a really good summer. She's pretty intense."
The Jumbos took second place with 55 points, behind the College of New Jersey's 36. Conn. College (102) and Trinity (110) were a distant third and fourth, respectively. The College of New Jersey managed to put its seven runners inside the top 20.
Rounding out the Jumbo top seven were junior Sarah Crispin (20th, 19:09), sophomore Katy O'Brien (23rd, 19:15), senior Becca Ades (24th, 19:15), and freshman Evelyn Sharkey (29th, 19:22).
"We had a lot of people run major [personal records]," Morwick said.
Ades, who last season was the Jumbos' top runner, had a tough first race, running near the lead in the early-going only to drop off later.
"[Ades] has been having injury problems, so it was frustrating for her," Shih said.
Not many of the teams Tufts normally races against competed at the Waterford, Connecticut course. Only Trinity joined Tufts and the hosting Camels from the NESCAC, while the other teams at the invitational were schools not generally known for their cross country programs, such as Assumption College and Emmanuel College. The race did have many more runners than in 2004, with over 240 people this year, and it was considerably more competitive. Comparing this season's race with last, O'Brien took sixth with 19:18 last fall and this season improved her time to 19:15 but finished only 23rd.
"In a more competitive meet, Conn. won't be nearly as close to us," Morwick said. "We had three in front of their top runner. In a bigger meet that gap is going to be much wider."
The race was encouraging for the team with 13 runners in a close group. Behind Ades were senior Arielle Aaronson (31st, 19:26), sophomore Laura Walls (34th, 19:29), Shih (35th, 19:30), junior Jenny Torpey (39th, 19:40), and freshmen Susan Allegretti (40th, 19:40) and Morgan Medders, who took 45th (19:45).
Four freshmen crowded the Jumbos pack, including two in the top seven.
"[Having freshmen toward the front is] a good sign; it means our team is getting stronger," Shih said.
Although it is still early in the season, the Jumbos are running as a close group. With six runners returning from last season's team and now the addition of some fleet-footed freshmen, Tufts could be a force in the NESCAC.
"All those 13 were under 20 minutes for 5k," Morwick said. "We're deep; it's nice to see. And there are only two seniors and a couple juniors. It's looking good, but it is really early to tell."
