Men's cross country, one of Tufts' most consistent top programs, comes into the 2006 season with a third consecutive NESCAC crown and a program-best No. 5 finish at last year's Div. III Nationals to defend.
While freshmen take the place of graduated runners, and the team's new leaders step up, one familiar face remains consistent. After a year as interim head coach, Ethan Barron was hired as the permanent head of the cross country and track and field teams in June.
"It's really great to be back," Barron said. "I can thank the athletes for that because with the performances they put in last season, I think their voices were heard."
With his status no longer in limbo, Barron has big plans for his squad, and feels that this year's squad has every opportunity to match the accomplishments of the 2005 team.
"We were very strong in recruiting new runners this year," Barron said. "The thing about recruiting is you have all this potential-now we have to see what we can do with it."
The members of the Class of 2010 are already turning that potential into consistent performances. Peter Browne, Nick Welch, Jesse Faller and Ben Silver all placed in the top 15 in this past weekend's informal Alumni Run. Those four lead a freshman class with the talent to make up for graduated seniors Matt Lacey and Matt Fortin and runners like junior Chris Kantos who are now studying abroad.
"You can't replace people like Lacey, Kantos or Fortin," Barron said. "What you do is build and develop the current team you have and hope that your sophomores, juniors, and seniors can step up and lead the way for the freshmen."
"We lost some key runners," senior co-captain Josh Kennedy said. "But the freshman class looks really good. They performed well all summer."
However, with a strong returning core of veterans, led by captains Kennedy and junior Nate Cleveland, the Jumbos should be pick up right where they left off last season.
"[Kennedy and Cleveland] are our leaders," said Barron. "They were chosen by their peers and the beauty of having a team elect their own captains is that it gives confidence to our captains."
Kennedy was excited at the additional responsibilities he will shoulder this season.
"It's great to be looked up to by your own teammates," Kennedy said. "It's not any added pressure; it just means I have more responsibilities and duties."
With the preseason behind them, the Jumbos have their first meet on Saturday at Conn. College. According to Barron, this race, along with many of the Jumbos' early-season meets, will be developmental, as the team builds towards ECACs, NESCACs, and Nationals.
"We won't go full out," Barron said. "We are just going to see how the freshmen do in their first five-mile race and starting to work our way so we hit our stride towards the end of the season."
Barron's claim that the early races are more about gaining experience for young runners rather than winning races is not simply rhetoric. Last fall, Tufts finished fifth in the Conn. College Invitational and was beated by NESCAC foes Conn. College and Trinity, two teams the Jumbos would run by later in the season on their way to the NESCAC Championship.
In 2005, Tufts' first meet win of the season came in its third race, the Jumbo Invitational. It did not win another meet until the NESCAC Championship meet.
With the pressure looming large to improve on last year's performances, the Jumbos are confident they can put forth another consistent year and solidify the Tufts program as one of the best in the country.
"We set goals and standards," Barron said. "Success and winning are two different things, and as long as we reach our full potential, then that's all I can ask for."
