Future Looks Bright for Women’s XC

On October 5, both the Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams travelled to Hanover College in Indiana to compete in the Division III pre-National Invitational. The women placed ninth out of 19 teams, with two freshmen runners coming in the top 25: Ashley Curran ’17 placed 21st with a time of 23:19, while Kelsey McGinnis ’17 placed 24th with a time of 23:24. Mike LeDuc ’14 placed first in the men’s meet with a time of 25:22, helping the men secure a sixth place finish.
Women’s Head Coach Ned Bishop viewed the meet as a great way to “get some experience with this type of travel, along with running on an unfamiliar course against teams outside of our usual frame of reference.”
This year’s roster holds several strong underclassmen. Coach Bishop feels that the “young [women’s] team has the potential to be in contention for a national qualifying berth over the next couple of years.”
The trip, despite hitting a few bumps in terms transportation and spending a night in baggage claim, was an overall success.
“Although it was down pouring during the race and certainly a rough course, we finished very well. The race was also a good confidence booster and I think we’re all ready to compete in NESCAC’s and division three regionals,” said Emily Winter ’16.
Both the men’s and women’s Cross Country teams are near the top in terms of their team GPA. Coach Bishop attributes their success on the course to their ability to succeed in the classroom: “The type of person who is successful in distance running is the same type of person who is successful in the classroom. You have to be very self-disciplined, structured and goal-oriented to achieve in both areas.”
“Being around such a great group of supportive girls motivates us to do our best when it comes to running and class,” said Amy Klopp ’15.
Many of the women note that having Bishop as a coach also helps motivate the team to do their best. Bishop said his favorite part about coaching the girls is “seeing the people achieve things they never thought before that they could accomplish. I love telling stories about people who had only modest performances earlier in the careers, either in high school or in their first year on our team, and then blossomed into really fast runners after putting in all the hard work”. Bishop is excited about what is in store for the rest of their season, and the girls appreciate and admire how much he truly cares about the sport and the team,
“[Bishop] challenges us to do our best and supports us both academically and athletically. He’s aware that every runner is different and accounts for that in our training” said Co-Captain Heather Rochford ’15.
With only a bit of the season left, the lady Camels have a few goals to cross off their list. “One of the primary goals the team set at the start of the year is to finish higher in the NESCAC Championship and the New England Division III Championship than we did last year,” said Bishop. One of the women’s team’s largest successes, sending the team in the right direction towards accomplishing this goal, is defeating Bowdoin twice, a team that finished ahead of them in the NESCAC last season.
Co-Captain Sarah Huckins ’14 is “proud of how much we’ve accomplished thus far this year” and in terms of the future for her team, the freshman class provides the team with much confidence. Five of the freshmen are running in the top ten this season.
“Their enthusiasm and energy have been infectious, so that has been a welcome contribution along with their success in our first few races,” said Coach Bishop. The team’s dedication also contributes to a hopeful future: “We have a group of runners who really want to train hard and race fast and once someone takes that step, the rest of the training usually falls into place pretty easily,” said Bishop.
The women’s team is not only successful on the course: they apply their attitudes towards health, exercise and nutrition to other areas on campus as well. Four members of the women’s team are part of the PEEPS (Peer Educators Empowering a Positive Self) club on campus. Marisa Shields, a senior cross country runner and peer-education undergrad intern this year, has applied her running skills to spearheading a nutrition campaign with dining services as well as an event pertaining to health and overall fitness at the Athletic Center. Other members, such as sophomores Caroline Leonard, Emily Winter and Anna Laurence also gear their work with PEEPS towards nutrition and leading a healthy lifestyle through exercise. The team works together strongly both on and off the course.