As the Princeton University women's cross country team went through its preseason training, head coach Peter Farrell got a sinking feeling.
Farrell, the only head coach the program has ever had in its 28-year history, realized that his two top returning runners, senior captain Catha Mullen and sophomore standout Jolee VanLeuven, weren't going to be helping the team anytime soon.
"Jolee was not medically cleared and Catha had an injury over the summer and hadn't been able to do a full training load," said Farrell. "To look at what happened to my two top runners was a big blow to me. I had to go to the deck and pull out some other cards."
Farrell has found some aces as the Tigers have far exceeded his expectations, producing a sizzling start that has seen the team win its first three races and rise to No. 7 in the national rankings.
The wild cards for Princeton have been its quartet of freshman standouts — Liz Costello, Christy Johnson, Alexa Glencer, and Reilly Kiernan.
The freshmen had been superb from the start as Glencer placed second in the season-opening Princeton Invitational with Costello and Johnson taking sixth and eighth, respectively.
"I don't like to rely on freshmen but this class has adjusted and acclimated itself to college in a big way," asserted Farrell. "They've made their presence felt. Their approach to competition is so composed; they act as if nothing fazes them."
Another key factor for the Tigers has been the way senior Mia Swenson has stepped up in her final campaign with the program.
"Mia did well at the H-Y-P meet, she shadowed the winner (Yale's Lindsay Donaldson) almost the whole way," said Farrell of the Hamilton, Mass. native whose second-place finish paced a dominating effort which saw the Tigers take spots two through eight. "She put in a huge summer of training and she is starting to reap the benefits. She is leading the freshmen around the course."
Swenson led the way again, finishing fourth overall as Princeton won the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University in its last meet, topping two nationally-ranked teams, Wisconsin and Tennessee, on the way to the win.
"Mia had a great performance at the Paul Short meet," said Farrell, whose squad edged Wisconsin by a point in the team standings.
"It was a tremendous performance by the whole team. We asked them to start conservatively and gradually move up; they really followed that game plan. It was all creamsicle (Tennessee) and raspberry (Wisconsin) at the first mile. At the second mile they were still locked in. I think each of our girls passed five runners over the last mile and three-quarters."
The program's new course at the West Windsor fields has helped the team move into the elite of the college cross country scene.
"It's a great place to train," said Farrell. "Now we train unfettered; we're not running through people. This is our place to train; it's not owned by somebody else. The team can run on grass and rolling hills, less chance of getting a sprained ankle."
This weekend at the Pre-Nationals Invitational meet at Indiana State, the Tigers will try to prove that their national ranking is justified.
"The polls are the polls; people tend to inflate things," said Farrell. "It's nice to be in the Top 10. The freshmen have shown absolute class but this meet is very intimidating. Everybody comes to Terre Haute; it's big time."
Based on how Princeton has excelled so far this season, they should fit right in with the big time competition out in Indiana.
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