Princeton University Athletics
Cross Country Teams Head to New York Looking For Heps Titles
October 28, 2004 | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 28, 2004
It's the Ivy League Heptagonal Cross Country Championships, and that means only one thing--just about anything can happen.
Just look at last season. Princeton took the top two places in the women's race behind Emily Kroshus and Cack Ferrell, only to have Columbia take four of the next seven spots and sneak away with a five-point win in the team competition. The men's race was just as close, with only 37 points separating first-place Brown from fifth-place Princeton.
This year's races get underway Friday morning at New York City's Van Cortlandt Park, and Princeton certainly has the race favorite on the women's side. Ferrell, a junior who never ran cross country in high school, has exploded with big finishes in big meets this season and has the confidence of that second-place finish from a year ago. "We were seventh at Pre-Nationals," says Princeton head coach Peter Farrell, "but the nature of the race changes at Heps. An individual running a low number at that kind of meet is less important here when you're looking for your entire group run in a solid pack."
Princeton certainly has those solid runners behind Ferrell in Mia Swenson and Meredith Lambert, along with a host of others. Just like last year, Columbia appears to be the Tigers' chief rival in what could be a close race.
On the men's side, the Tigers also have a potential individual champion in senior Austin Smith. Smith has been Princeton's top runner in every meet this season, finished sixth in an elite field at Notre Dame and should improve immensely from a 28th-place Heps finish last year.
"This race should be very, very wide open," says Princeton men's head coach Fred Samara. "All eight teams are excellent, and six have been capable of national rankings at some point this year."
With the exception of Smith, the Tigers bring an extremely young team to Heps, with five freshmen and three sophomores among the 12 Princeton runners that will be competing. Among those underclassmen, look for sophomore Paul Rosa to have a strong finish in Friday's race.
Results of the 2004 Ivy League Heptagonal Races will be available here at GoPrincetonTigers.com soon after the event and nearly immediately at the Ivy League website--www.IvyLeagueSports.com.