Although understandably heart-broken by the one-point loss to the Panthers last weekend, the Jeffs have placed first or second at every single meet they have competed in this season. This feat is even more impressive considering that there has only been a total of 20 combined points separating them from the victors in the four competitive races they didn't win outright.
Co-captain Heather Wilson '08 capped off her amazing season with a seventh-place finish at Nationals. Kim Partee '08 did not disappoint Jeff fans with her 11th-place finish, enough for her second cross country All-America honor.
Meg Ray '08, an emerging scorer for the Jeffs this season, missed the All-America mark by a few seconds with her phenomenal race to 45th place, while co-captain Shauneen Garrahan '07 concluded her collegiate cross country career at 49th also, just short of what would have been her third cross-country All-America award.
Returning to racing after sitting out Regionals the previous weekend with an injury, Elise Tropiano '09 raced to a 75th-place finish to cap off the scoring for the Jeffs.
The sixth Jeff harrier to cross the finish line was Sophie Galleher '10, right on Tropiano's heels in 78th, concluding a spectacular rookie season. Katie Moravec '08 placed 167th for the Jeffs, with more than a hundred harriers behind her in the field of 279 competitors.
Despite the somewhat bittersweet ending, the team will not allow that to put a damper on what has been the most successful season ever for the Jeffs.
"The whole team came into the season with the goal to win Nationals, and I felt that, for the first time since I have been here, that they raced like they wanted to win Nationals every time out there," said Head Coach Eric Nedeau. "They were tougher then any other team, and they believed that they were the best team." Throughout the season, the Jeffs gained more and more confidence in their abilities and it was this belief in themselves as a team that allowed them to make a serious run for the National title.
"To be honest, the one-point loss stings a lot and while they should be super proud of their second-place finish, I would be ignorant if I were to think that they, and even myself, was not thinking about that one point," commented Nedeau. "I felt that we had the better team and we came up just short of the title, but in the process, we had some phenomenal races and their efforts are to be applauded for the race, and for the season."
The sting that the Jeffs are feeling right now will hopefully serve as the kindling for a fire that will propel them to their first-ever National title next fall. The sole senior on the team this season, Garrahan, has been an invaluable harrier and leader for the Jeffs through all four of her collegiate years, but fortunately the remaining six varsity runners will be returning with a wealth of developing runners in an incredibly talented and deep squad next year.
"Every year is a new year of challenges, and we will have a big group of seniors," said Nedeau. In the meantime, Jeff fans may watch most of the cross country runners continue to progress as the indoor track and field season gets under way.
NESCAC Notes
The NESCAC proved to be a dominating conference last weekend. In addition to the Panthers and the Jeffs at one-two, Tufts University placed fifth, and Williams College was eighth.