Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Women's Cross Country Tries to Make it Four In a Row at Heps on Friday
October 27, 2010 | Women's Cross Country
PRINCETON, N.J. (10/27/10) - The Princeton cross country teams look to bring Old Nassau its first Ivy League titles of the season on Friday, Oct. 29 at the 2010 Ivy League Heptagonal.
The women's 5k race will began at 11 a.m., followed by the men's 5-mile race at 11:45 a.m., at Van Cortlandt Park.
The women are seeking their fifth straight Ivy League championship and seventh overall. Last season the Tigers made history by sweeping the first five places in the race to finish with a team score of 15, the lowest score since the championship began in 1977. Liz Costello '10 defended her individual championship, becoming just the second runner in 25 years to win three individual scoring crowns at Heps. Costello clocked in at 16:55.7 her best time at Heps. Alex Banfich '12 followed at 17:12.9, along with Sarah Cummings '11 at 17:15.5, Ashley Higginson '11 at 17:18.0 and Reilly Kiernan '10 at 17:21.5. All five posted personal championship bests.
The trio of Banfich, Cummings and Higginson should again place high in the race. Sophomore Alexis Mikaelian has consistently been the Tigers' fourth runner this season. She finished as the eighth runner for Princeton at Heps last season at 18:42.5. The number five slot is wide open. Sophomore Mel Newbery and freshman Marisa Cummings are the best bets in rounding out the scoring. Newbery was the fifth runner at Pre-Nats but didn't run Heps last season because of an injury. Cummings was the fifth runner at the Notre Dame meet and has been in the top half of runners the entire season. Freshmen Abby Levene and Theresa Devine are also contenders for final slot.
The Tigers are ranked No. 18 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll, as the only Ivy League team to be nationally ranked. Princeton is third in the Mid-Atlantic region, with Penn ninth. Cornell, Harvard, Columbia and Yale are 5-6-7-8 in the Northeast Region with Brown 12 and Dartmouth 15.