It was a gloomy day for the Jumbos at the Open New England Championships on Saturday. Tufts took 13th on a rain-soaked course at Franklin Park in South Boston. After taking two weeks to prepare for the race, the team came out flat and ran below expectations in a crowded field of Div. I, II and III opponents.
"Overall, the general attitude is we can do a lot better," senior tri-captain Becca Ades said. "It didn't all come together."
This year's placing matched the team's 13th place finish last season.
"It's pretty disappointing considering we're a better team than we were last year and we finished pretty much the same," coach Kristen Morwick said.
Sophomore Catherine Beck led the way once again for the Jumbos, taking 31st in 18:46. She was followed by freshman Katie Rizzolo (62nd, 19:16) and Ades (72nd, 19:25). Rizzolo has been in the top three for Tufts in every varsity race she has run.
"To be in the top part of the team so far is awesome," Rizzolo said. "It's not a lot of pressure as a freshman to perform because you don't know where you stand so far."
The race was a better day for Ades, who has been working to get back to form after returning from an injury. The team will need performances like this out of Ades if it plans to be competitive at the end of the season.
"That was nice to see," Morwick said of Ades' performance. "She definitely went out pretty hard, which I think was her plan, and she held on for about two-thirds of the race. She felt better about it. That was one little bright spot."
"It was better than it's been this year, but I still have a lot of work to do," Ades said of her race.
Following Ades for the Jumbos were freshman Susan Allegretti (87th, 19:32), juniors Sarah Crispin (113th, 19:51) and Raquel Morgan (121st, 19:57), and sophomore Katy O'Brien (171st, 20:27). O'Brien has been battling sickness for the last two weeks and Morgan had a tough time stretching out for the race.
"They just had bad days," Morwick said. "There's not much else to say about it."
The performances in the sub-varsity race were more encouraging for the Jumbos. Freshman Evelyn Sharkey took third overall in the race in 19:17. Junior Samantha Moland followed in 12th in 19:40. Right on Moland's heels were senior tri-captain Arielle Aaronson (18th, 19:53) and sophomore Laura Walls (28th, 20:10).
The sub-varsity times, as well as performances from sophomore Anna Shih (20:20) and freshman Morgan Medders (20:28), were fast enough to make a case for varsity for some of the sub-varsity runners. However, it's still too early in the season to tell who will comprise the Jumbos' varsity postseason squad.
"I didn't really know [the varsity team] until the last few races so I don't think it's something you can predict right now," Ades said. "Everybody is still rounding into form."
The race was the first time Tufts has competed against many of the NESCAC schools. The team's 13th-place finish put it behind the league's Williams (2nd), Amherst (5th), Colby (7th), and Middlebury (10th). That puts Tufts at fifth in the region and in line for a spot to go to Nationals at Ohio Wesleyan in mid-November. A smaller-sized race will mean the team will be less spread out.
"I definitely think we're more capable than what we showed on Saturday," Rizzolo said. "In a smaller race I think that we'll be able to shine a lot brighter."
While the race included some very good Div. I and Div. II schools, the NESCAC teams showed why the league is one of the most competitive in the country. Williams beat teams from Brown and Harvard and, along with Amherst and Colby, beat UConn's runners. Tufts finished only 15 points behind Div. I Boston College.
In broader focus, Saturday's race was really a chance for the Jumbos to see how they matched up with the rest of their regional competition.
"We'll probably be anywhere from third to fifth [in the NESCAC] and we weren't that great on Saturday." Morwick said. "It wasn't our greatest day and considering how sub-par it was, we were still the fifth [NESCAC] team."
However, the team will want to improve on its finish so it doesn't find itself in the same position it did last year - with a sixth-place finish at Regionals and just seven points away from a trip to Nationals.
"It's still only [early] October so I hope we're not racing our best races at this point," Morwick said.
The team will get another shot when it hits the road for the Williams 4k this weekend. The shorter race will be the team's final competition before the NESCAC championship at Wesleyan at the end of October.
