This season has brought both men's and women's cross country much success. As each team prepares for the series of championship races that lie ahead, each squad has high hopes. While the women hope to continue their streak of dominance, the talented men's team patiently awaits the race in which it will all come together.
Women
The Amherst women came into the 2007 season with high expectations. Returning a strong core of runners from a 2006 team that placed second at Nationals, the Jeffs have little room for improvement, but they will not be satisfied unless they close that gap. "Our goals for the team are to be undefeated from here on out and bring home the Regional and National titles," said co-captain Kim Partee '08.
The team began the season with an eye toward these goals, and ran early races with a focus on peaking at the right time as a team rather than posting individual results at less significant meets. "Everyone works really well together during races and at practices, and that is where a lot of our strength lies," said Partee. In their opener, for example, the women ran in a pack at the Amherst Invitational, and though they ended up winning the meet, several runners held back to run with the team instead of posting the best times they could.
Amherst was undefeated through three races, finally ending the winning streak just last week in the Open New England Championships at Boston's Franklin Park. The Jeffs finished an impressive second place overall against teams from Div. I, II and III. Quinnipiac University edged the Jeffs by a narrow margin of 13 points to win the meet. The second best Div. III team was Williams, and Amherst beat them by 144 points. "I think everyone was pretty happy with the way they raced," said Partee, "[but] we would have liked to win the whole thing."
Partee finished 12th overall and third for Amherst, still fighting the remnants of an early season injury. Partee, fellow co-captain Heather Wilson '08 and Elise Tropiano '09 have become fixtures among Amherst's top five. Tropiano and Wilson led Amherst at Franklin Park, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively. Tropiano and Wilson have been Amherst's top runners every race this season, and have each been named NESCAC Performer of the Week.
Other key contributors for the Jeffs have included Katie Moravec '08, who won the Amherst Invitational, and Sophia Galleher '10, who has scored for Amherst in every race this season after winning NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors in 2006. Laura Mortimer '08 and juniors Nicole Anderson and Caitlin McDermott-Murphy have also earned points for the Jeffs this year, testifying to the team's great depth.
The Jeffs have been deep, focused and dominant, and they continue to improve as they enter what Partee calls "the championship portion of [the] season." "Every race we are getting stronger," said Partee, "and that will only lead us closer to our goals."
Men
After a strong, but not dominant, 2006 season, the Amherst men have exceeded expectations so far in 2007. Though they have yet to run a race at full strength, the Jeffs have won one meet and performed well in their three others. While the men were expected to be a competitive team this year, surprise contributions from two first-years-Will Yochum and Florian Reichert-have made them "one of the most talented men's teams we've ever had," according to senior captain Mike Harbus.
Before the season, the Jeffs' goal was to qualify for Nationals. At that point, the team was to be led mostly by returning veterans like Harbus and a strong sophomore class including Dan Murner, Carlyle Eubank and Eric Holaday. However, breakout performances from Yochum and Reichert have added depth that the Jeffs didn't think they would have. Now, instead of hoping to qualify for Nationals, Harbus said "the expectation is that we go to Nationals and place as well as we can when we get there."
Reichert and Yochum's potential became clear on opening day, when they placed first and second respectively at the Amherst Invitational, narrowly edging Harbus, Eubank and Murner. The team had trained with Reichert and knew he would finish well, but at that point he was running unattached as he awaited eligibility from the NESCAC. Yochum, meanwhile, "was a bit of a surprise" in that race according to Harbus, who agreed with junior Peter Foote that Yochum had been training well, but raced even better. Amherst as a team was dominant in that race, winning handily as Holaday rounded out the scoring by finishing 10th.
In the next race, the Dartmouth Invitational, Reichert remained ineligible and Yochum ran for the junior varsity, but the veterans stepped up, with Murner, finishing fourth overall.
The following week, Yochum returned to varsity and Reichert finally debuted his Amherst jersey in the Purple Valley Classic. The team was again paced by Murner, who finished fifth overall. Yochum was just one second and one place behind, and Reichert also cracked the top 10. With both Foote and Harbus ill, Holaday and Eubank completed the scoring, placing 14th and 29th, respectively. The depleted team finished in an impressive second place, losing to host and arch rival Williams by a narrow 12 points.
Last week at Franklin Park, the Jeffs were again foiled by Williams, finishing eighth overall and second among Div. III teams, while the Ephs claimed fifth. Nevertheless, there was reason for celebration as the eighth-place finish was Amherst's best ever at Open New Englands. Reichert placed 31st to lead the team, with Yochum next in 50th, followed by Eubank, Harbus and Holaday. "What's most impressive," said Harbus, "is that we still have a bunch of room for improvement," adding, "there's still a lot of untapped potential that people have yet to see."
If Amherst can have everyone run their best race on one day, Harbus's prediction should prove true. Next week at the Little Three Championships at Wesleyan University, Amherst should finally be at full strength for the first time. There, the Jeffs will get a third shot at the Williams team that has, twice in a row, barely escaped their grasp, and they will begin a stretch that could be the most fruitful in school history.