The women's cross country team this weekend at the New England Championships went up against a slew of Div. I, II and III teams , which proved to be the toughest field of competition the Jumbos have faced this season.
In a massive race that had 322 runners, the Jumbos finished 25th out of 47 teams with a total score of 690. It was the first meet in which the top seven runners from each team raced separately from the team's remaining roster, adding to the extremely high level of competition within the field.
In the five-kilometer race, senior tri-captain Amy Wilfert continued her return to top form, as she crossed the line first for the Jumbos. Wilfert finished 78th overall with a time of 19:03. Junior Anya Price continued her strong racing, finishing 139th in 19:37.
Finishing third for the Jumbos was sophomore Lilly Fisher in 151st place (19:46). Just two seconds back was freshman Abby Barker in 153rd. Rounding out the scoring for the women was freshman Lauren Creath in 169th, just over the 20-minute barrier in 20:01. Sophomore Melanie Monroe and freshman Madeleine Carey crossed the line in 184th (20:12) and 187th (20:15), respectively.
In a race of that size, it can often be difficult to make strong moves to pass other runners. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of a large race is getting pushed away from teammates, making it difficult to work as a pack.
"Working together is definitely a goal of ours," Fisher said. "We talk about trying to work together and use each other to run fast. In a 5k, it's a little bit more difficult because the race is just a bit shorter."
With all the young talent on the team, working together is something that may help the women achieve future success, though the mentality of running with a pack does not always sink in right away.
"In high school, I didn't have a teammate that ran the same pace as me, so I have never had a teammate to work with," Barker said. "I think it is definitely a useful tactic, but I will have to work on getting used to it."
With so many girls finishing around the same time, the team is going to try to integrate pack running into its racing strategy.
"I think learning to work off our teammates more will help a lot during races," Barker said. "I haven't had that type of experience before, but when you look at the good teams, they all run in small groups. Williams and Middlebury have great pack running, and they are very successful teams."
In another impressive showing from the underclassmen, freshmen took five out of the top 10 spots for the Jumbos in the varsity and sub-varsity races combined.
"The freshman class is really encouraging, and they are continuing to perform at a great level," Fisher said. "I am hopeful that it will provide some positive momentum for everyone moving forward. Hopefully it will keep everyone moving in the right direction."
After the less-than-ideal showing at New England Championships, the team is now looking to steadily improve over the next few weeks in anticipation of some of the championship meets later in the season.
"I hope to keep setting personal bests," Fisher said. "I am definitely in a different place in terms of fitness than I was last year. Each race, I just want to keep improving. I haven't really done that many 6ks so each race I get a little more experience."
With only the Connecticut College Invitational between now and the NESCAC Championships on Oct. 30, the young team has little time to get in top shape. With strong upperclassmen leading and improved pack running, though, the Jumbos are hoping to keep building the momentum as they head into the final weeks of the season.
