By: Scott Rodilitz

Individual Race

 

After the men made a mess of the once pristine Kings Island golf course, it was the women’s turn to do battle. Undefeated Amy Regan of Stevens Institute wasted no time getting to the front, and she already had gapped the field after 200 meters. Race favorite Lucy Cheadle of Wash U settled in comfortably along with Cassie Vince of Calvin and Sarah Quinn of MIT, making up a three person chase pack that was ten seconds back at the halfway mark.  The rest of the field was strung out another ten seconds back, with the next few stuck in no-man’s land. It quickly became clear that Cheadle was the only one who could close the gap on Regan, and with about a kilometer to go she had done just that.

 

However, the surprising Regan had saved another gear, and just after Cheadle pulled ahead, Regan let loose. She hung on all the way down the final straight, securing an impressive victory with a final time of 20:51. Cheadle would finish seven seconds back, also breaking 21, while Vince held on for third. Quinn faded all the way to 14th, while the fast closing Ruth Steinke of Carleton and Emma Shunk of Wheaton (Ill.) rounded out the top five.

 

Team Race

 

Team favorite Johns Hopkins had veteran Frances Loeb, Ashley Murphy, and Hannah Oneda in their top seven together for the first time all season, making them seem even more invincible than expected. About halfway through the race, it was clear that only MIT was willing to mix it up with the two-time defending champs, as those two teams were knotted up at 79 points with third place SUNY Geneseo all the way back at 215. The race stayed reasonably close until the end, as both MIT and Johns Hopkins had four All-Americans and the Engineers were within five points of the favored Blue Jays. However, depth carried the day on the women’s side as well, and MIT couldn’t get a fifth runner across the line in time to match Johns Hopkins.

 

St. Lawrence also had four All-Americans, though the Saints had struggled to find a dependable fifth all year. Halfway through the race, they were out of podium position despite the stellar front four, but freshman Ashley Leta moved up over sixty places in the final half of the race to secure a third place finish.

 

Midwest champs Wash U backed up their star with a solid 2-6 pack, and though Cheadle will be sad to leave without an NCAA cross country title, the final podium trophy will have to suffice.

 

Regional Breakdown

 

New England

 

Runners-up MIT and their four All-Americans led a large New England contingent to another series of impressive nationals finishes. NESCAC powers Middlebury and Williams finished sixth and eighth, respectively, and had some stellar performances. Middlebury veterans Alison Maxwell and Summer Spillane took two of the last All-American spots, while it was the Williams rookies Anna Harleen, Emily Sundquist, and Victoria Kingham that carried the day for the Ephs. Though the leading trio of teams garner the most attention, it was Amherst, Tufts, and Wellesley that outperformed their rankings by the most. Their performances, as well as the region’s eight All-Americans, helped make New England the most competitive region.

 

Biggest Surprise: Kelly Fahey of Tufts, who was 32nd at regionals and 31st at nationals.

 

Midwest

 

Like the New England region, the Midwest was lucky enough to send six teams to the big dance. However, they backed up the committee’s decisions by placing all of their teams in the top 20, highlighted by an impressive podium finish by the Wash U Bears. The region had five All-Americans, led by the Bears’ Cheadle. Shunk and Laura Mead of UW-La Crosse also added top ten finishes.

 

Biggest Surprise: Wash U on the podium. They were ranked sixth coming in, so perhaps it shouldn’t have been a big surprise, but they didn’t seem to have a strong enough pack until it came together today.

 

Atlantic

 

Rivals St. Lawrence and SUNY Geneseo battled it out again, with St. Lawrence riding its stellar newcomers to a podium finish and Geneseo having to settle for a bittersweet fifth place team finish. The region’s three at-large teams failed to impress, however, with Oneonta finishing well behind its national rank and Ithaca finishing as the last at-large team. The individuals were quite impressive, though, as national champion Amy Regan led six other Atlantic runners across the line in All-American position.

 

Biggest Surprise: Amy Regan with the win. After leading for most of the race before finally getting caught, her impressive acceleration surprised everyone, especially Cheadle.

 

Mideast

 

Though Johns Hopkins’ threepeat gives the region legitimacy, the rest of the region did little to impress in a supporting role. The region had five All-Americans, but four of those were Blue Jays Frances Loeb, Ashley Murphy and sisters Sophia and Tess Meehan. Though fifth runner Bridget Gottlieb missed joining that exclusive club by just a few spots, her 37th place finish sealed the team victory on a day when Johns Hopkins was uncharacteristically hurting for depth.

 

Biggest Surprise: Emily Rabenold of Grove City, who was 9th at regionals and secured the region’s only other All-American finish.

 

Central

 

A region better known for its individuals than its teams, at-large selections St. Thomas and Wartburg both cracked the top 25. Regional champ Carleton finished fourteenth as a team, and though a top ten finish would have been ideal, they essentially met expectations. As predicted, though, the individuals were the story for the Central region. Led by regional champ Ruth Steinke, the region had five All-Americans and just missed out on a sixth.

 

Biggest Surprise: Sanjuanita Martinez of Cornell College, who finished 9th at the regional meet and 19th this weekend.

 

Great Lakes

 

Oberlin put together a fine performance and finished as the top Great Lakes team, avenging their loss to Calvin at the regional meet. The now multiple-time All-American duo of Emma Lehmann and Lindsay Neal both saved the best for last and improved slightly on their performances from last year at nationals. Hope moved up well over the course of the race to support their inclusion into the field. Calvin’s Vince along with Lehmann and Neal gave the region three All-American finishers.

 

Biggest Surprise: Hope, who moved from 30th to 23rd over the second half of the race.

 

West

 

The regional champion Willamette Bearcats had trouble traversing the mud, but Claremont-Mudd-Scripps picked up the slack and surprised their way to a top ten overall finish. Sagehen Maya Weigel (Pomona-Pitzer) backed up her regional title by bringing home the region’s only All-American award.

 

Biggest Surprise: CMS finishing in the top ten, on the strength of a 20 second spread.

 

South

 

Almost exactly as expected, the South’s two qualifying teams finished 23rd and 32nd. Emory put forth a game effort and snuck in at slightly under 600 total points. Christopher Newport, meanwhile, seemed a bit over their heads in this highly competitive field. However, they bring back six of their top seven, and their experience should serve them well in the future.

 

Biggest Surprise: Tamara Surtees of Emory earning the region’s lone All-American award.

 

Next Year’s Season Starts Today

 

Young teams in the top ten like St. Lawrence and Williams have to feel optimistic about their chances next year, especially since the Johns Hopkins dynasty can’t last forever. However, with Gottlieb, both Meehans, and hopefully a healthy Oneda returning next year, the Blue Jays might be making themselves a nest atop the podium.