An average day never felt so good for women's cross country. On Saturday, the Jumbos took fourth place at the NESCAC Championships at Wesleyan College, priming them to take one of the five regional spots available for Nationals that will be decided in two weeks.
Sophomore Catherine Beck (11th, 18:32) and senior tri-captain Becca Ades (13th, 18:42) took All-NESCAC second team honors by placing in the top 14, leading the team to 90 points, just behind Colby, who took third with 78 points. The Jumbos beat Middlebury (fourth, 119), which had won six of the last seven NESCAC Championships and finished second in the nation at Nationals last season, by 29 points.
"It was good to see who was out there," Coach Kristen Morwick said. "I think some people made some mistakes, and some people had great races."
Junior Raquel Morgan (20th, 19:06) out-kicked freshman teammate Evelyn Sharkey (21st, 19:06) down the stretch. The two were followed closely by sophomore Katy O'Brien (25th, 19:15) as the Jumbos put their top five across the line within 43 seconds of each other. The performance moved Tufts up to eighth in the national rankings and fourth in the New England coaches' poll. But Morwick stressed that the team can still progress.
"Everyone in the top seven can do better," Morwick said. "It wasn't their best race but it was good. We have a ton of room for improvement."
Williams College, which took first, put four runners in front of Beck and handily downed the Jumbos by 45 points, only two weeks after the Jumbos went out to Williamstown and put three runners in front of Williams' fourth runner. Amherst had three runners in front of Beck.
"Beck can definitely run better," Morwick said. "She ran well but she can run better."
Regardless, Beck and Ades both took All-NESCAC honors for the first time in both of their respective careers. Ades has made huge strides in the last month to get back to the top of the Jumbos pack after returning from injury at the beginning of the season and missing a good deal of training over the summer.
"She was pretty determined to do it," Morwick said of Ades getting All-NESCAC. "She went out hard and went after it. She's still on the climb from coming back from that injury. Every race she's getting better and better and better."
"My strategy was just to go out with the top runners and stay with them," Ades said. "It went very well for me."
The middle of the Jumbo pack saw some strong contributions out of its two other tri-captains, junior Jenny Torpey (47th, 19:42) and senior Arielle Aaronson (48th, 19:47). The two followed close behind freshman Katie Rizzolo (36th, 19:32) to give the Jumbos a solid top eight runners. The strong showing from Torpey and Aaronson made up for junior Sarah Crispin (57th, 19:56) having a rough day.
"We have a lot of depth this year so even if a couple people have some bad performances, it's alright," Morgan said.
The fourth place finish puts the Jumbos in prime position to earn a spot for Nationals this season, something they narrowly missed out on last season. The top five teams at Div. III New England Regional Championship in two weeks at Springfield College will get a trip out to Ohio Wesleyan to compete for the national title. Traditionally, those top five teams have all come from the NESCAC.
"On an average day we're fourth in NESCACs which is the toughest division in the country and I think that's pretty good," Ades said.
Usually by the end of the season, some runners face the feeling of being burnt out from constant racing. But the excitement of the team nearing its goal for the season has the Jumbos ready to compete.
"This year as it's progressing I'm actually getting more and more excited," Morgan said. "Really we just have to get through Regionals [to accomplish our goal]."
As for this weekend, the second seven will head to back to Connecticut to race for the ECAC Championship. The group will be led by Aaronson, Torpey and freshman Morgan Medders, who was one of the top finishers in the open race (19:57), which included both collegiate men and women.
"Other than Williams, we have the best second group out there," Morwick said. "This meet showed us quite a bit in terms of depth."
Sophomore Anna Shih (58th, 19:56) and freshman Susan Allegretti (61st, 19:59) finished just after Crispin in the varsity race, and sophomore Laura Walls (68th, 20:06) was not far behind. Tufts put its top 13 runners within 1:34 of one another, giving the Jumbos a very deep team. The final lineup for the Jumbos for ECACs has not yet been determined.
