If the goal of a cross country team is to steadily improve throughout the season, the Tufts women may have a tough task ahead of them.
The team set an impressive pace for the remainder of the year, finishing first in a field of 27 at the Conn. College Invitational on Saturday. The Jumbos placed five runners in the top 20 despite the humidity and poor field conditions.
"We went in with a conservative plan," coach Kristen Morwick said. "It was hot and humid, and [there were] muddy conditions. I told the girls to hang back, and they took that to heart."
Junior tri-captain Catherine Beck stole the show on Saturday with an overall first-place finish. Her time of 18:06 shattered the previous course record held by Williams graduate and NCAA Div. III 5k/10k champion Caroline Cretti (18:23), and seemed to surprise even Beck herself.
"The Connecticut College course is an extremely flat and fast one, so going into the race I was hoping that I could turn in a fast time," Beck said. "However, the day of the race was warm and very humid, so you never know what will happen. You just have to go out there with a good positive attitude and see what you can do."
Beck held back in the beginning, out of the top 30 for the first three-quarters of a mile, but steadily gained ground on the pack to finish with the victory.
"It was exciting to see her come around the turn, and move from 30[th place] to first," Morwick said.
The team placed four additional runners in the top 20. Junior Katy O'Brien finished in fifth with a time of 18:53, and senior Raquel Morgan (19:19) and sophomore Evelyn Sharkey (19:25) captured 15th and 16th places, respectively. Senior Samantha Moland finished in 18th place with a time of 19:25 to round out the Tufts top five.
"They were really conservative [at the start], so it didn't show where fitness levels really were," Morwick said. "At top form, you run much faster than six minutes a mile, but I was impressed how people moved up. It was a really good sign, and it showed that that strategy worked that day. But we'll have to go out harder later [in the season]."
These individual finishes amounted to 55 points and Tufts' overall top finish, 14 points ahead of the strong College of New Jersey, a team that significantly out-ranked Tufts during preseason rankings.
"Placing ahead of the College of New Jersey is huge, as they are one of the best teams in the nation and ranked substantially ahead of us in the preseason polls," Beck said. "Beating a team of that caliber-and one which we lost to last year-is a huge morale-booster and hopefully indicative of good things to come."
The squad knows it will be difficult to maintain this momentum for the remainder of the season, but a first place opening-meet finish presents the good kind of challenge.
"I don't think anyone was expecting to win, so it was a nice surprise," Sharkey said. "It was a good starting point, but we know that we have a long way until the championship season, and that we need to stay focused and healthy."
Indeed, it is the championship season is exactly what cross country, more so than most sports, is focused on. Team records at meets count for little, and September and October Saturdays serve mostly as opportunities to get in top condition and shave precious seconds off times.
"People have to recognize [that they have] to work hard, stay healthy, and we can't afford injuries if we want to continue in this direction," Morwick added. "Our end goal is Nationals and performing well there, and everything else is a part of the puzzle gearing towards Nationals."
