Despite outstanding performances from senior tri-captains Cat Beck and Katy O'Brien and freshman Stephanie McNamara, the women's cross country team put up a sixth-place showing at the NESCAC Championships Saturday, their lowest placing since 2004. Tufts suffered from a major dropoff after its first three runners, failing to place anyone else in the top 50.
A testament to the depth of a top-heavy conference, Tufts' overall score of 126 was just two points above that of fourth-place finisher and nationally-ranked No. 20 Middlebury.
"We were very close," Beck said. "It was just kind of unlucky, and we're a young team with a young top seven. We have to keep taking it one week at a time, staying positive, looking ahead, and trying to put our best foot forward."
With a 22:14 finish, Beck was first for the Jumbo squad, placing behind only Amherst senior Heather Wilson, whose clip of 21:56 earned her the individual title. O'Brien, who was edged by Bowdoin freshman Yasmine White in third, claimed fourth place with a 22:21 time.
Leading the pack at NESCACs is nothing new for the duo of Beck and O'Brien, who delivered a solid one-two punch at the event last year. In 2006, O'Brien won the first race of her collegiate career with Beck trailing right behind her in second.
"It was great being back at the Williams course having the race where Katy and I ran together in the back of my head," Beck said. "We were together for a long time chasing the lead pack, and that was right were we wanted to be. It was a huge mental boost to know that my teammate was right next to me and that we were working together to get up there. It ultimately played out really well."
McNamara, who has steadily moved in to fill a solid No. 3 spot for the Jumbos, once again joined the tandem at the head of the group, turning out a 15th-place finish in 23:20.
"Steph ran a great race," Beck said. "She did phenomenally. We haven't had a freshman perform that well at this meet in for as long as I can think of, so that was awesome."
"I think she's really focused, and she knows how to stick to her race strategy," senior Anna Shih added. "We weren't particularly surprised that she ran so well, but we were very pleased that it happened. She's been working really hard for it."
McNamara's performance was especially impressive, as it came in the first NESCAC Championship race of her collegiate career. Her finish was the best in the event for a Tufts first-year since 1996, when Cindy Manning (LA '00) placed 11th in Williamstown.
"It's kind of hard for the freshmen, because we don't know who from the other teams is good, what their names are, or what they look like," McNamara said. "It's hard to place yourself with people who you know you can run with. I was just trying to go out there and find those people and stick on them."
The rest of Tufts' top seven was far behind the pace, with freshman Amy Wilfert, sophomore Lisa Picascia, Shih and junior Susan Allegretti taking 53rd, 74th, 82nd and 88th respectively to round out the scoring Jumbos. While Tufts attempted to breach the gap between the top three and the rest of the top seven by staying in packs throughout the race, the strategy did not pan out exactly as the Jumbos had planned.
"It didn't work quite as well as we wanted it to, but we have some time to work on it in practice," Shih said. "A large part of our team has never competed at NESCACs before, and since it's such a new experience, it's a little overwhelming. It's hard to focus on strategy when you see all the other teams."
The team anticipated strong showings from powerhouse squads such as Amherst, Williams and Bowdoin, but the Colby Mules surprised the Jumbos, tallying 125 points to edge Tufts by one.
"That's all the name of the game," Beck said. "Race conditions and courses are so varied that it's hard to predict what's going to happen. But you have to focus on things you can control and let those you can't go. You have to be able to respond to what's going on around you and what you can do to get your team in the best position."
While the top seven will likely get a break in the upcoming ECAC Championships, the group will have to come back strong for the Div. III New England Regional Championships on Nov. 10 to maintain hopes of receiving an at-large bid to Nationals.
"We have two weeks until Regionals, and one of our strategies now is to relax and put faith in the training we've done in the past," McNamara said. "We're just trying to relax, stay calm, and try to focus on the group aspect instead of the individual fitness aspect."
