Men
Eric Holaday ’10 offered an interesting explanation for the team’s success. “We had a team meeting early in the week and decided that the theme was going to be ‘Nationals or Bust,’ so we all picked a good luck charm with a national theme. And boy, did they sure fuel us out there.” Holaday appeared to be fueled the most, running a 26:37 on the 8-kilometer course, finishing first for the Jeffs and 15th overall. “It was my good luck charm, I’m telling ya,” he explained. “Some people call me ‘Grizzly’ because of my hair, so I thought why not a bear? A strong, virile animal, perhaps the best animal in the country. So I read Goldilocks every night before I went to bed. It got the job done.”
Daniel Murner ’10 was next across the line for Amherst, only three seconds behind Holaday, finishing in 18th place. The Kentucky-bred Murner put a bottle of Jim Beam underneath his pillow each night. “Empty, of course,” he laughed. Ruminating junior tri-captain Carlyle Eubank finished third for the Jeffs in 26:56. “I had been sick all week,” he explained, “so my good luck charm was Advil. If Advil doesn’t spell USA, I don’t know what does.”
Jimmy Swanson ’10 and Will Yochum completed the Amherst top five. The pair finished within a second of one another in 32nd and 33rd positions, respectively. Swanson stayed the course, eating gumbo before the race — “America’s favorite meal,” he quipped, while Yochum, the Californian man with a mane, said he dreamed about surfing. “For me, it’s the US of Waves.” Rounding out the Amherst top seven were senior tri-captains Harrison Lakehomer and Peter Foote. Lakehomer said he called his uncle for good luck. “His name is Sam. I thought it was appropriate,” he said. Foote went a different route. “I wore my American flag underwear,” he confided with a giggle.
Although the loyalist lads got the job done, Coach Ned sees room for improvement. “The guys have not been willing to lock horns with opponents up at the front of the race,” he said. “If they do that, we could be a phenomenal team, and with one race left, my hope is that they will realize that and go after it right from the start and see what happens.”
Women
New week, same story: senior quad-captain Elise Tropiano dominated. Tropiano became the first-ever Amherst woman to win the Regional race. She also grabbed NESCAC Runner of the Week honors for the third time this season by finishing the 6-kilometer race in 21:49. Her closest competitor was 40 seconds back. “I thought about Obama — he won by a landslide,” she explained. “Fortunately, I was able to do the same.”
Wee Sophia Galleher ’10 returned from illness to finish second for the ladies. The diminutive Jeff finished in 28th place with a time of 23:48. “I just ate Chipotle. Nothing is more American than a big, meaty burrito, plain and simple,” she opined. Zandra Walton ’09 was next across the line for Amherst, putting in a great performance to finish in 42nd place. Walton, who will miss next week’s meet due to a Mitchell Fellowship interview, kept her good luck charm in the realm of academia. “Sophomore year, I listened to a great lecture on nationalism,” she explained, “so I just revisited that material each night. Truly fascinating stuff.”
Completing the top five for Amherst were Hallie Schwab ’11 and senior quad-captain Nicole Anderson. The duo finished within touching distance of each other in 51st and 52nd. Schwab followed up on her winning Val stir-fry entry. “I went all-American this time,” she said. “Wonder bread, ham, and American cheese. Delicious.” The Hawaiian Anderson kept it Pacific. “I read up on American Samoa,” she said. “It’s like Samoa, but American.” Shannon McKenna ’12 finished sixth for Amherst. The Iowa native kept it simple, explaining, “I husked some corn. It’s Iowan, it’s American, and it’s good for you.” Senior quad-captain Caitlin McDermott Murphy had to drop out of the race due to injury and will miss this week’s National meet. Senior quad-captain Liz Dalton and first-year Eliza Schalch will step up to take the places of Walton and McDermott-Murphy.
Tropiano is optimistic heading into the weekend. “We’re still going into Nationals wanting to improve upon our Regional performance,” she said. “There is still some unrealized potential for our team this season and we want Nationals to be the venue for the realization of this sort of latent talent.”
The men’s and women’s cross country teams will leave campus this Thursday for NCAA’s. The Lord Jeffs will arrive in Hanover, Ind., hoping to make a statement in their last meet of the season.