Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
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Women's Cross Country Places 14th At NCAAs; Individual Men Peak With 59th Place Finish
November 19, 2007 | Women's Cross Country
After 4,000 meters, the Princeton women's cross country team was in fourth place. Head coach Peter Farrell is hoping his young squad can learn from the final 2,000 meters, where his terrific runners finally ran out of gas. Ivy League champion Liz Costello, who has led the No. 4 Princeton squad all season, passed out during the race and wasn't able to finish as a scorer for the Tigers, who placed 14th in the event.
Sophomore Christy Johnson led the way for Princeton, finishing 41st overall in a time of 21:07. Johnson placed second in the Ivy League Heptagonal championships, which Princeton won by 44 points over second-place Columbia. Freshman Ashley Higginson placed 69th in a time of 21:32, junior Megan Brandeland finished 93rd in 21:44, freshman Sarah Cummings placed 106th in 21:50 and senior Caitlin McTague rounded out the scoring by finishing 110th in 21:52. Jolee Vanleuven finished 164th (22:27), while Costello did ultimately finish the race after passing out and placed 209th (23:28).
"It was a tough day," head coach Peter Farrell said afterwards. "The kids put their heart into it, but they just ran out of gas. It's a young team, and we'll be back next year with a better plan of how to handle the race."
The conclusion should hardly take away from the best season in program history. Princeton didn't lose a single race in six attempts, including the afore-mentioned Ivy League championships and the NCAA regional meet. Princeton will return six members of its NCAA squad, including four runners who are either freshmen or sophomores.
The men's squad sent three individual runners. Junior Michael Maag led Princeton with a 59th-place finish (30:44.5), while senior teammate Dave Nightingale placed 73rd in 30:56.7. Sophomore Ben Sitler placed 212th with a time of 32:23.9. The men's team, like the women, has claimed both of the last two Ivy League championships.
The Stanford women and Oregon men won the 2007 NCAA team titles.