The women's cross country team placed 13th at the NCAA Div. III Championships meet on Saturday, the team's best showing since finishing fifth in 2006. The only other NESCAC schools to compete, Williams and Middlebury, finished second and third overall, respectively. The meet was a showcase of the NESCAC's strength, proving that it is one of the most competitive conferences in the country.
The eight-kilometer course, located at Hanover College in Hanover, Ill., consisted of rolling grassy hills and mud patches from rain.
"There were patches of mud that were slippery, but luckily the weather stayed cold enough to keep the mud from being too soft" senior tri-captain Abby Barker said.
Barker placed first for the Jumbos, finishing 16th overall with a time of 21:45. This finish earned her All-American honors for the first time in her career. According to Barker, how she started would dictate where she could finish.
"I knew that I had to put myself up front in the beginning in order to finish where I wanted to, and not get stuck too far back" Barker said. "[Sophomore] Audrey [Gould] and [sophomore] Olivia [Beltrani] are great at getting out hard, so they helped push me to that from the start. I always tried to stay on the shoulder of someone and not allow myself to fall off anyone."
Beltrani finished next for Tufts, placing 55th with a time of 22:15, followed by classmate Gould, who finished 82nd with a time of 22:29 and also competed individually at last year's nationals. Senior tri-captain Lauren Creath crossed the line in 176th place, with a time of 23:10. For Creath, her performance was not satisfactory.
"My race did not go according to plan at all," Creath said. "I just had an off day. The race went out really fast, but I did not get off the line the way I had intended. Everyone is fighting for those top 35 All-American spots, so people are aggressive right from the start. I should have better anticipated this, but it was definitely more overwhelming than I had remembered the last time I ran at Nationals."
Senior Laura Peterson rounded out the scoring for the Jumbos, placing 185th with a time of 23:15. Senior Molly Mirhashem and freshman Lindsay Atkeson finished sixth and seventh, respectively, for Tufts. Mirhashem placed 224th overall with a time of 23:36, and Atkeson finished 236th with a time of 23:45.
At a meet of this importance, the pressure affects athletes in different ways. According to Barker, she was able to keep her nerves in check and run the best race she could.
"I enjoy competing in big races, because even though there is more pressure, it's more rewarding and more significant when you do well," Barker said. "I was anxious for the race, but out of excitement. And as long as I have the right perspective, I think this nervousness helps me race better. This was the last cross country race of my college career, so I figured it was worth it to take a risk and see what happened.
But for Creath, the importance of the race negatively affected her performance.
"As a senior, this was also the last cross country race of my college career, so I wanted it to be the best," Creath said. "I built it up in my mind a lot and just couldn't channel that energy when the gun went off. I was really anxious and just couldn't perform. I am really disappointed. Looking at the bright side, I was running best times up until this race, so I am happy with my season as a whole."
While individuals' showings varied, the team's performance this season was strong.
"I'm really proud of how our team finished the season," Barker said. "Not only the seven girls who ran at Nationals, but everyone who has raced this season, because our success comes from the whole team. Even though there have been some setbacks, our team has improved consistently throughout the season, and performed well when it counts. I can't believe this is my last season running at Tufts, and I can't wait to see what happens next year."
