The women's cross country team placed third out of 11 teams at the NESCAC Championship in Waterford, Conn. at the Harkness State Park meet on Saturday, improving on last year's fourth place finish at the meet.
Because of the strong talent at the top of the conference, a NESCAC title was a difficult task from the start. Middlebury and Williams have been dominant teams all season, winning four meets and three meets, respectively, prior to the NESCAC Championship. The Jumbos, however, were able to carry out their goal from the beginning of the fall without winning the conference outright. Coming into the season, the team's goal was to place third or better in the NESCAC, which they accomplished.
"We did what we had to do, we accomplished our goal minimally," senior tri-captain Lauren Creath said. "But we didn't race as well as we could have. There are things than can be improved upon, but for the most part we did what we had to do."
Tufts finished with a score of 90 points, falling short of second place Williams College's 51 points and beating fourth place Bates College's 138 points. Middlebury won the meet with 29 points and captured the NESCAC title for the fourth time in the last six seasons, but for the first time since 2010.
The Panther's victory ended the Ephs' quest of winning the conference for the third consecutive year. All five of the Middlebury runners whose times contributed to the team score finished in the top 10 overall, demonstrating the team's dominance at the meet.
"It's clear that Middlebury is pretty unbeatable," Creath said.
Senior tri-captain Abby Barker crossed the finish line first for the Jumbos, placing third with a time of 21:44, only 24 seconds behind the first place finisher, senior Kaleigh Kenny of Williams. Barker's performance earns her a spot on the All-NESCAC First Team, given to the top seven finishers, for the first time in her career.
Sophomores Olivia Beltrani and Audrey Gould finished next for Tufts, running times of 22:09 and 22:23, and placing 13th and 20th, respectively. Beltrani's performance earns her All-NESCAC Second Team honors.
"I didn't run quite as well as I wanted to," Gould said. "I wish I'd put myself more in the race from the beginning because it's harder to come from behind than to start up front and just go with that lead pack."
Creath and senior Laura Peterson rounded out the scoring for the Jumbos. Creath placed 22nd with a time of 22:26, and Peterson placed 31st with a time of 22:49.
"My race in particular was different because we got out slower, and I'm used to getting out harder and trying to hang on at the end," Creath said. "I tried to go out a little more conservatively and pick it up at the end, so I was able to hang onto packs and pass people at the end. For a new race strategy, I think it went well."
The team's strong 55-second 1-5 spread is consistent with what the team has been doing all season, and is one of the main reasons why they have been successful.
Senior Molly Mirhashem and junior Meg Gillis also ran for the Jumbos at the meet, although only the top five runners are factored into the meet's scoring. Mirhashem placed 34th with a time of 23:00, and Gillis placed 39th with a time of 23:07.
Next weekend, the team's top seven will get some rest as the eighth through 14th runners will compete in the ECAC Championship in Bristol, R.I.
Then the top seven will be back in action after their weekend off with the NCAA Regional Championship in Gorham, Maine on Nov. 16. Here, the Jumbos will have a chance to qualify for the NCAA Championship.
"I think at Regionals we want to close the gap between us and Williams, because I think we can beat them if we have a good day," Gould said. "And after last year, we want to go to Nationals because we know we're good enough, and we've put in the work so I think we can pull it off this year."
"Our main goal [at the NCAA Regional Championship] is to finish in the top four," Creath added. "MIT and Williams are ranked ahead of us, but they are beatable. It would be a challenge, but we could potentially do it. It's up for grabs based on who has a better day. The end goal is qualifying [for the NCAA Championship meet]."
