Jumbos earn first automatic bid to NCAAs in program history

This past weekend at the NCAA Div. III New England Championships in Waterbury, Conn., the women's cross country team had one goal in mind: to qualify for NCAAs for yet another year.

The team had a phenomenal day on Harkness Memorial State Park's fast six-kilometer course, narrowly edging out Middlebury (third, 108 points) and MIT (fourth, 114 points) with 107 points for second place, earning Tufts an automatic berth at next week's NCAA Div. III National Championships in Winneconne, Wisc. Williams won the meet with 44 points. 

Tufts raced this course a few weeks ago at the Connecticut College Invitational, where the team placed second to MIT by only five points. This weekend, they were able to exact revenge.

Because of the windy weather, the Jumbos went out conservatively and moved up throughout the race. As a result, times across the field were much slower than times from the same course a few weeks ago, where the run had been on a beautiful, windless day. The race was also notable for featuring a restart, a rarity in cross country races. During the first 100 meters of the race, a runner was tripped up, so the race was restarted.

"I think initially we were thrown off, however, we all made sure to find each other jogging back to the start to just regroup and laugh it off as a 'nice final stride before the race'," senior Sydney Smith said. "Our second start didn't leave us in as good of a position as we would have liked, but that's something we can easily improve on at the national championships next weekend."

Senior co-captain Audrey Gould paced the way for the Jumbos, hanging onto the front pack and taking sixth overall in 21:49.3 on the fast and flat course. Classmate Olivia Beltrani was next for Tufts, taking 16th in 22:04.1. Sophomore Brittany Bowman, who has been doing exceptionally well this season, was Tufts' third runner in, taking 25th overall in 22:11.0. Junior Kelly Fahey was right behind Bowman, taking 28th in 22:15.3, while classmate Sam Cox rounded out the scoring with her 32nd place, 22:23.7 time. Junior co-captain Alice Wasserman grabbed 38th place in 22:31.8 while Smith rounded out the scoring in 45th place 22:41.7. Gould, Beltrani, Bowman, Fahey and Cox earned All-New England honors for their performances.

"We focused on not over-strategizing this year, [and] we all entered the race with confidence that if we did what we've done day in and day out this year, we would come home with a spot in the top three," Smith said. "It's always a delicate balance of sticking to what's been working and using the extra excitement that comes with the big championship meets effectively. I really tried to tap into [the] extra surge that comes with post-season competition in the last mile. My kick is my strongest point, so I really just let the importance of the race help fuel the kick [for] the last quarter mile."

Gould was extremely pleased with how the team raced but added that she was not surprised by the result.

"I was thrilled beyond belief by the result," Gould said. "We deserved second because we are a stronger team this year than both Middlebury and MIT. Even so though, it still felt completely unreal after the past three years of sub-par finishes at Regionals to run to the best finish in program history. And obviously, [we were] more than pumped to beat MIT. I have waited a long time to knock them from the top."

The restart did not mess with the Jumbos' psyche, and they were able to mentally refocus at the start of the race.

"The restart was definitely shocking for us; that has never happened to us and hardly happens in cross country races," Gould said. "We tried to shake it off and be lighthearted about it. It's easy to let something like that really throw [you] off your game and that definitely didn't happen to us. Although I think most girls had a better first start than second, sometimes things like that happen and you just have to roll with it."

Pack running has brought Tufts unprecedented success this season. Last season, when the Jumbos finished sixth in the region, their top seven were spread out by over a minute in finish times. This season, the group up front has become much tighter, and the one to seven spread has decreased to well under a minute. At last year's New England regional, the team's one to seven spread was almost two minutes in length, as their first runner crossed the finish line 1:55 before their seventh. This year the time between the first and seventh runner was just 52 seconds.

Support of the "TUXC Crazies," the team's rabid fanbase, also helped Tufts compete at its highest level.

"The 'Crazies' made all the difference during the ocean-front stretch in the third mile, which had strong headwind and gusts for a good three-minute stretch of the race," Smith said.  "I can remember hearing someone different every 20 meters or so, which really helped me ignore the fatigue and maintain the pace despite fighting the conditions. There wasn't a single stretch of the race that didn't have someone cheering you on, and no other school can say that."

The "Crazies" annually emerge at regionals, clad with cut-out, larger-than-life heads of the athletes and covered head to toe in brown and blue body paint.

"The 'Crazies' make this day one of my favorite days of the year, [and] there are truly no words to describe what it feels like to be on the line and see the mass of bodies...with the Tufts flag," Gould said. "It's an adrenaline pumper for sure. My personal favorite cheer is when they stand on both sides and make a tunnel and then 'whoosh' us through the tunnel. I think those fans are a big part of why we usually run well at regionals."

At last year's national championships, Tufts rebounded from a tough race at regionals to take 16th overall, with Fahey taking All-American honors. The way this season has been going so far, the Jumbos have the potential to place even higher and, potentially, earn more All-American honors.

"Next week, we want a top five finish, but I could see us finishing anywhere from two to five," Gould said. "We have yet to put all the parts together and all perform to our potential, and if that happens, a top three finish is within reach. Personally, I want All-American honors (top 35), but I think I am in shape for a top 20 finish. So, we'll see."