Men's Cross Country | With full roster returning, Tufts sets sights on bounce-back campaign

    Last season, following the graduation of all three of its captains, Tufts turned to a relatively youthful cast to propel the cross country squad to a respectable fourth-place finish at the NESCAC Championships. But this year, with all seven of Tufts' top runners returning, the bar has been set even higher.
    Leading the charge is senior Jesse Faller, back for the final year of his prolific career. Faller placed third in last year's NESCACs, 36 seconds behind eventual NCAA champion Peter Kosgei and just one tick after the first runner-up.
    Yet individual success in lieu of team performance is not satisfactory for Tufts. The Jumbos are hoping to build on last year's success at the conference meet and 11th-place finish at the NCAA New England Championships.
    "Finishing as poorly as we did at Regionals and that being our last race, it puts a thorn inside of you and you want to avenge yourself," Faller said. "I don't think it's an issue of proving ourselves, but I think that we want to improve. With that drive and determination, all the guys have been training really hard."
    For a season that started out well — Tufts won the 5K race at its own invitational and finished second out of 17 teams at the Codfish Bowl in Boston — injuries and sickness plagued the Jumbos down the stretch, leading to what senior captain Nick Welch referred to as a "disappointment."
    "When things go well, it's great, but when things go poorly, you have to find the lesson in it and make adjustments," he said. "I don't think we need to make huge adjustments and come up with something new. The growth and making small adjustments and being smarter about our training will help us. Our best needs to be in November, not October."
    Anticipation is a feeling consistent throughout this year's roster.
    "Any time when you come back from a really successful season, there's an excitement of hoping to defend a title," Welch said. "When you come away from one that didn't go well, you almost have more fire to get it back on track. I think, without a doubt, this is the most fit, top to bottom, in the four years I've been here."
    Aside from Faller, who earned All-American status for the second straight year by placing 35th in the NCAA Championship at Hanover College last November, the Jumbos turn to Welch, a two-time All-New England runner, and senior Ryan Lena, who placed 19th at NESCACs.
    Tufts also will welcome numerous freshmen to the team, many of whom should have an impact immediately, according to Welch.
    "We have a really strong freshman class, a few guys I definitely expect to make a big contribution," he said. "Freshmen always add the heart to the team and they are a good class this year."
    But members of the Class of 2013 are not the only new Jumbos; the team recently added assistant coach Mark Coogan, who is more than familiar with the world of long-distance racing. Coogan represented the United States in the marathon at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games and coached the Phillips Exeter Academy boys' cross country squad to three New England prep school team championships.
    "He's going to bring a lot of experience to the team," Faller said. "That's going to pay off a lot. He's a really helpful coach when it comes to training and also race strategy because he's been through a lot."
    With the squad's vast experience, the team hopes to repeat and build upon the success of recent years. In 2007, the squad garnered an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, and in 2008, it improved one place at NESCACs.
    In late August, the Jumbos took a training trip to Maine, practicing together and focusing on becoming more united.
    "For camp, it's just the returners, so it's our chance to get back together and spend four whole days together, like a retreat," Welch said. "It sets the tone for what the team will be like this year. I think us going away to camp and re-collecting ourselves helps."
    Tufts will turn its attention to the Trinity Invitational this Saturday. Unlike past years, the Jumbos have only two meets before the All-New England Championships on Oct. 10, but its importance is minimal when compared with the championship races later in the season. And with months before the NESCAC meet, the earlier races provide ample opportunity for runners to distinguish themselves.
    "These first few weeks, the freshmen can benefit the most from them," Welch said "The first races are like friendlies, a chance to shake the cobwebs out, get back in the swing of racing."
    All told, the Jumbos have the ingredients for a stellar season, according to Faller.
    "We have our top runners all coming back, and I think we're all going to be stronger with an extra year of training," he said. "Also, we have some solid freshmen that can be in the mix to run on the varsity squad. All of those things breed success for our team."