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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

Women's Cross Country | Team opens season minus McNamara

    Last season, the women's cross country team had to deal with the departure of two All-American runners from the top of its lineup. This year they will have to do the same — albeit unexpectedly.
    The Jumbos' No. 1 runner, junior All-American Steph McNamara, suffered an injury due to overuse last year and likely will miss this season. It is a devastating loss for a Tufts team that was on the cusp of earning a berth to Nationals and was supposed to be returning its top five runners from the Div. III New England Regionals.
    "Losing Steph is a blow to the strength of our team, but now that we know what is going on the team is more than ready to step up," junior Amy Wilfert said. "I think it will be harder, but we can probably pull together and still have a really great season."
    "Right now we are not counting on having Steph back," sophomore Anya Price added. "She may be gone for so long she might redshirt this season. We are not counting on her coming back so we aren't going to rely on that."
    The absence of McNamara, who placed 11th at the NCAA meet last fall, will mean that the Jumbos will be counting on some of their returning runners to improve their times this season. The team graduated only one runner who regularly scored points — Amy Hopkins — so there are a number of options for coach Kristen Morwick to look at.
    At the top of that list should be Wilfert, who was consistently Tufts' No. 2 runner last fall. The junior finished roughly 15 seconds outside of an All-American spot at the NCAA Championships last November in Hanover, Ind., but she will now be looked to as the backbone of the Jumbos' squad.
    In addition, Tufts will enjoy added experience coming from some of last year's younger contributors. Price was on the cusp of breaking 24 minutes in the 6k at the end of her inaugural season, as she finished 40th in the New England Championships in 24:05.9. Fellow sophomore Bryn Kass, who was in the top seven last year, could also move up into the top five without McNamara and Hopkins in the fold.
    The Jumbos have been working over the course of the preseason to make sure that they have the endurance for the 6k races later in the year. They will test their training for the first time on Saturday at the Trinity Invitational.
    "The summer is a really good time for building up mileage," Wilfert said. "It is basically just working on getting in some good-quality, longer-mileage runs and some good workouts. We are mostly focused on just coming back in shape and healthy and excited for the season."
    The Jumbos hope that their hard work will earn them the trip to Nationals that has eluded them for the last few years. Tufts has not made it out of the New England Regionals as a team since the 2006 season, when it finished as the fifth best team in the nation.
    "Our team has put in a lot of hard work this summer," Wilfert said. "The upperclassmen especially have the goal of making it to Nationals since we have been sixth the last two years."
    If Tufts is going to make good on that goal, finding a replacement at the top might not be as important as shoring up the gaps at the bottom of the varsity lineup. At last year's NCAA New England Championships, the Jumbos had 26 places separating their third- and fourth-best runners and 33 between their third- and fifth-best runners, a deciding factor in denying the team a bid to Nationals.
    "I think we are hoping that some of the freshmen can fill in the gaps," Price said. "Some of the returning runners have really put in solid summers. So the returning runners are coming back with that passion since we were denied it last year."
    If runners such as senior captain Lisa Picascia and junior Elana Davidowitz can jump up a few more spots, the Jumbos might be able to take their whole team to the NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio in November.
    "Our captain, Lisa, is definitely working hard to be pushing the pace and pushing everybody," Price said. "I have noticed that a lot. She has put in a really good summer, so I think Lisa is really ready to step up to the plate."
    This weekend's race will give the team the opportunity to see what newcomers can contribute and how the top seven will be shaped. And with the added incentive of Trinity also playing host to the NESCAC Championship this season, the Jumbos are ready to see what this year's team has.
    "This weekend seems to be more about scoping out the team dynamic," Price said. "We haven't seen the freshmen race yet, so this weekend is about seeing how everyone fits in with everyone else."