With just one runner each from both the Tufts men's and women's cross country teams competing Saturday at the NCAA Div. III Championship, senior Jesse Faller and junior Amy Wilfert took full advantage of the chance to represent the Jumbos on the national stage. Both earned All-American status after finishing in the top 35.
In his last cross country race as a Jumbo, Faller capped his distinguished collegiate career with an eighth-place finish at the 8k Highland Park Golf Course in Cleveland, Ohio.
"It was definitely my strongest race of the season and I was very happy with an eighth-place finish," Faller said. "Finishing in the top 10 in the nation was one of my goals, and I think it was a bit of a reach goal, and that's why I was happy to get it."
Faller's time of 25:40.0 separated him from second place by eight seconds, though senior Ricky Flynn of Lynchburg distanced himself from the pack with a time of 25:09.8, over 20 seconds ahead of North Central junior Michael Spain and Williams senior Edgar Kosgey, the NESCAC's top runner.
"The first mile is always pretty hectic, but I was able to keep calm and keep up with the leaders," Faller said. "By the mile and a half or two-mile mark the race had kind of strung out, so it felt a lot more comfortable and I was able to stick right behind the lead pack and I was never less than 20th for the whole race, so strategically I ran very smart."
Faller noted that he ran in the top five toward the latter half of the race, but in the fifth mile he slowed and dropped out of the top 10. However, his finishing kick on an 800-meter hill was strong enough to pass several competitors.
Meanwhile, junior Amy Wilfert ran a time of 22:46.3 over six kilometers to place 31st.
"I'm really excited that I got top-35, All-American honors," she said. "I had high expectations coming in. I was hoping for maybe the top 10 or top 15. But going back and looking at the course and how competitive it was, that put things back into perspective. I would've had to have run a perfect race to reach those.
"Based on conditions, it was a race to whoever got to the mile mark first," she continued. "I started out around 35th, and the course made it pretty tough to move up, so I was about in the same place the entire time. It came down to how well you got out and what your position was at the mile, and I had to work hard to move up a few spots."
With his career-best finish at nationals, Faller becomes a three-time All American, the first in Tufts history, as he had previously finished 18th at NCAAs as a sophomore and last year placed 35th.
"Nationals is all about how you perform under pressure," he said. "There is so much pressure to do well. It is just a very high-stakes race, and a lot of people can't handle it, so a lot of the guys fold under the pressure. I've had high pressure races where I don't do well, but this weekend I think I was ready for the challenge mentally and that was the big difference for me."
Ironically, his 35th-place finish in 24:59:89 last year was the only time Faller broke the 25 minute milestone at NCAAs, and his 25:40 finish was his worst time in his three NCAA appearances. But it was Faller's ability to handle the adverse conditions that allowed him to run the best race by a Jumbo at Nationals since Rod Hemingway finished sixth in 1997.
"I was happy to redeem myself after last year's performance and I can't think of a better meet to have as my last cross country meet," Faller said. "It definitely reflects the hard work that I've put in this year, which I don't think was really reflected in some of my earlier meets, and I was just proud to really compete at the level I've been wanting to compete at."
Last year, Wilfert finished 48th at Nationals with a time of 22:01. Her performance gives the women's cross country team its second straight All-American, following then-sophomore Stephanie McNamara last year. Though the course challenged the competitors, Wilfert was able to improve her performance in her second go-around on Div. III cross country's biggest stage.
"The course was pretty muddy and harder than I anticipated," Wilfert said. "It was a lot different than Nationals last year in terms of course conditions.
"It hadn't rained since Thursday, but it must have rained a lot before we got there since the course was damp," she continued. "People had been running on it Thursday and Friday which made it muddy. I think running in the mud is a little challenging for me."
The environment was not entirely negative for Faller and Wilfert, as approximately 50 teammates traveled from Tufts to support the duo.
"They really helped to pull us along in the race, and they were a huge part of the Nationals experience for me," Faller said. "I am grateful that they came out and supported us, especially for … my last cross country meet."
"It made the race nicer because you have the familiarity of people cheering for you," Wilfert added.
Lauren Flament contributed to reporting on this article.
