As the NCAA New England Championships approach, the men's cross country team will take on a number of regional foes when it goes for its fifth Nationals berth in six years.
But first, it will have to get through NESCAC Championships at Bates this weekend, facing some of the toughest competition New England has to offer.
The Jumbos finished fifth in the competition last year, coming up short of Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin and Trinity. The Lord Jeffs and Ephs have proven their continued strength this year, claiming sixth and eighth, respectively, at the All-New England Championship earlier this month. Tufts, the next-highest-placing NESCAC school of the seven that attended, took 19th.
"I think we can definitely match [our fifth-place finish], if not improve on it," assistant coach Mark Carberry said. "Clearly, our team is much different than last year's team, and the conference is much different, but I think that is definitely a possibility. Williams and Amherst are pretty much head and shoulders above the rest of the conference. We've got to keep our eyes out for Trinity, Middlebury and, to a lesser extent, Bowdoin."
"I think if we performed as well as we did last year, I'd be really happy," junior Jesse Faller said. "In terms of places, [finishing among the] top five teams would be good, but I don't really have any expectations. I don't think we have really run up to our potential yet this year, so because of that, we're kind of the underdogs in this meet."
Faller's 12th-place finish in a field of 127 runners at last year's NESCAC Championship was good for second among his fellow Jumbos. Then-senior tri-captain Dave Sorensen (LA '08) posted an impressive ninth-place finish.
"Jesse is definitely a top-three guy in the conference, if not [a contender to] win the whole thing, but it all depends on how the race plays out for him," Carberry said. "But he's healthy, and he's ready to go."
Faller's main opposition will likely come in the form of Hamilton junior Peter Kosgei, who won last year's race by a remarkable 29-second margin.
"It will depend on who's having a good day," Faller said. "There is definitely some good competition in the race."
Both Carberry and Faller stressed that making definitive predictions about Saturday's outcome is nearly impossible.
"If we all run up to our potential, then we can definitely match a fifth-place finish and hopefully do better," Faller said. "That obviously depends on us running well, and it also depends on how other teams run."
"If we have a great day, but other teams also have a great day, then we might do as well as if a team has a bad day and we catch a lucky break," he continued. "Sometimes, with big championship races, things can go either way because it's only one race, so anything can really happen."
A pack-running strategy will be key for the Jumbos as they look to prevent opposing runners from passing members of the Tufts squad.
"We're in a good position to have our [No.] 3 through [No.] 8 runners have the ability to stay in a pack for a majority of the race, and if we're able to do that, then I think we will have accomplished our strategy," Carberry said.
On Nov. 15, the Jumbos will move on to the NCAA New England Championship, from which the top two teams will advance to NCAA Championships. Outside of the top two teams, the NCAA also grants at-large tickets to Nationals. After the Regionals meet, the NESCAC Championships will be the second race the selection committee looks at as a deciding factor.
"[NESCACs] is definitely important ... Some people say that you've got to be in the top five to really have a shot to go to Nationals, and they're probably right," Carberry said. "[The NESCAC Championships] is going to be a good testing ground to see if we have the manpower to get us to Nationals."
But the standings after NESCAC Championships don't always predict finishes at Regionals. After placing fifth in NESCAC Championships last year, the Jumbos placed third at NCAA New England Championships and qualified for the national meet.
"I don't think that I would expect to go to Nationals," Faller said. "However, I believe that we definitely can go to Nationals, seeing as how last year we qualified. Tufts has qualified four of the past five years, and I think this year will be no different."
