Cross country Head Coach Erik Nedeau played Mr. Enigma this past weekend, keeping his runners in the dark about race strategy until moments before the gun. The last-minute changes to race tactics didn’t hurt the Jeffs, as both the men and women came away from the UMass-Dartmouth meet with second-place finishes.
Women
The women ran in a pack of five through the first two miles before breaking up and reeling in as many opposing runners as possible. Elise Tropiano ’09 gobbled up everyone in front of her, finishing the 5-kilometer race first, in an impressive 18:11. Sophie Galleher ’10 was wowed by her teammate’s performance. “Elise absolutely cranked that last mile,” she said. “Closing the last mile in the 5:20 range and passing 45 runners in the process is pretty impressive stuff.”
Indeed it is, but Galleher put in a similarly swift last mile, finishing one second behind teammate Caitlin McDermott-Murphy ’09 in 18:43—good enough for 10th place. Rounding out the top five for the Jeffs were Hawaiian homegirls Nicole Anderson ’09 and Christina Wong ’11. The pair hula-ed their way across the finish line with times of 18:55 and 19:34, respectively. Seniors Zandra Walton and Liz Dalton completed Amherst’s top seven.
The Jeffs finished second in the team standings, losing only to the MIT Beavers. Anderson, though, was not concerned about the early season loss. “We were not quite able to pull out a win,” she said. “But most of the team was not running at full racing effort. We’re not terribly disappointed, as this was really just another tune-up.” Nedeau expressed a similar sentiment. “For where we are at, and the heavy volume of work that we have been doing, combined with the race strategies that both teams executed, I was very happy with the times for the race,” he explained.
Nedeau was also pleased with the women’s performance in the junior varsity race. Shannon McKenna ’12 just missed cracking the 19-minute barrier, finishing second overall. Classmates Laura Zaccagnino and Eliza Schalch finished eighth and 10th. Meanwhile, Mercedes Taylor ’11 lived up to her name, driving herself under 20:00 for the first time.
Men
The men followed a similar strategy, with the top five staying together for the first three miles of the 8-kilometer race before going all out in the final two. Will Yochum ’11 sauntered along at about five-minute mile pace, finishing in 25:14, which was good enough for sixth place overall. Junior tri-captain Carlyle Eubank finished shortly thereafter in 25:32. Daniel Murner ’10 followed in 25:42, but some of Coach Nedeau’s enigmatic qualities must have rubbed off on the Kentucky junior. Meet officials failed to spot Murner crossing the line and the resulting mix-up has caused the results to incorrectly list the Jeffs as fourth overall in the team standings, instead of second.
The loudest applause of the day was reserved for Amherst’s next finisher: Senior tri-captain Harrison Lakehomer. The oft-injured Oregonian successfully completed his first 8-kilometer race in over a year. There were rumors before the race that Lakehomer was in danger of aggravating his muscular maladies, but he exuded the placidity associated with his last name, running intelligently and coming away from the race unscathed. Fellow senior tri-captain Peter Foote was proud of Lakehomer’s performance. “Harrison hasn’t raced an 8K in forever,” he said, “Seeing him finish like he did put a smile on everyone’s face.” Grizzly-haired Eric Holaday ’10 finished fifth for the Lord Jeffs, while Ben Mears ’11 was their sixth runner. Foote completed the top seven with a 26:05 finish.
Foote was happy with the men’s performance through the first two weekends, where strategy has been the focus. “It’s a solid start, as we’ve not really been focused on winning,” he explained. “At this point, we are ready to go. These past two races have readied us mentally, and we’re ready to see what we can do.”
The men’s and women’s teams should get a better idea of where they stand next weekend at the Purple Valley Classic. Heated rival Williams College hosts what should be a fast day of racing. Nedeau has promised to let his runners off the leash. “We will be running our own style of racing, and hopefully we can come out on top,” he enthused. Foote agreed, “We’ve been waiting a long time for our first crack at Williams.”