The Jumbos are on the move.
Not even an increased distance and a treacherous set of hills could hold them back on Saturday as the women's cross country team raced to second place at the Jumbo Invitational, its only home meet of the season at the Tufts Veterinary School in Grafton.
The win came only four days after polls ranked Tufts No. 12 in Div. III, behind Williams (1), Middlebury (2), Amherst (5), and Colby (7), as the NESCAC made a strong showing in the rankings.
Sophomore Catherine Beck (2nd, 22:37), junior Raquel Morgan (4th, 22:47), and freshman Katie Rizzolo (8th, 22:58) blazed through the difficult Grafton hills to give first-place Amherst a run for its money before securing a second-place finish. Tufts' 62 points trounced Wellesley, the next closest team with 98 points, and put the Jumbos right on the heels of the Lord Jeffs' 52.
The Jumbos also handled NESCAC competition from Conn. College (99), Wesleyan (124), and Bates (148), and established themselves as a force inside the league.
"It was nice to see that we can do that, but we need to stay focused and keep taking things one week at a time," Beck said.
"I thought we raced pretty well," coach Kristen Morwick said. "There were a lot of people who ran [personal records]. We were missing probably runners four through eight. That would have tightened up our top five significantly and if you have those girls in there, we'd kill them."
Morwick decided to give junior Sarah Crispin, sophomores Katy O'Brien, Anna Shih, Laura Walls and freshman Evelyn Sharkey the weekend off. Grafton, this season's only 6k race, is particularly tough on middle-distance runners like those five, and the Jumbos have been racing for three weeks straight.
Despite the absence of five solid racers, the Jumbos had a strong middle pack, led by freshman Susan Allegretti (20th, 23:36). She was closely followed by senior tri-captains Arielle Aaronson (30th, 23:50), Becca Ades (33rd, 24:01), and Jenny Torpey (36th, 24:05). Freshman Morgan Medders (44th, 24:17) rounded out the pack that put five runners across the line within 31 seconds of each other.
Aaronson and Torpey had great races, cracking the Jumbos' top seven to help lead the team to their second place finish. Aaronson ran 1:13 faster this year than the same race last year and Torpey cut 56 seconds off her 2004 time.
"Every week they continue to improve," Morwick said. "They're very competitive. It's so hard to say who that top seven will be at the end because our returners are running so competitively right now."
Ades, an individual qualifier for Nationals last season, has had a tough road returning to form. She missed a lot of time in the summer with an IT band injury after spending a semester abroad last spring.
"[Ades] is still in the process of getting back into shape and she's probably a month behind from where she was last year," Morwick said. "Her workouts have been great, but it's been beating her up on Saturdays. She'll be there, but we're just going to have to be patient and she's just going to have to be patient."
The trio of Beck, Morgan and Rizzolo bunched close together at the top gives the Jumbos a 1-2-3 punch that should keep them very competitive when the team reaches the postseason. The women were instructed to run conservatively as a pack for the first mile of Saturday's race before they opened up. Beck managed to catch everyone but Amherst's top runner, senior Shauneen Garrahan.
"It was scary to kind of go out there because it's definitely not what I'm used to," Beck said. "It's really helpful for me when we go out as a team in the beginning because that's where the pacing really begins. It's awesome when you know that you're not alone."
"[Beck] ran a more conservative first mile," Morwick said. "She was 15 seconds off the pack and [then] she just ate them up. She's come in a lot more serious this year and I don't think we've seen her best race yet."
Tufts will be taking the weekend off to prepare for All-New England's on Oct. 8 at Franklin Park in Boston. The course is fast and flat allowing teams the opportunity to run some of their best races. The race brings together the top teams in New England from Divisions I, II and III. The Jumbos will use the break to allow some runners to recover from the aches and pains generated during four straight weeks of racing.
"Mentally and physically for the team, this is right where we need a break," Morwick said.
