HANOVER, N.H. - The women's cross country team ran to a solid third-place finish at the Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday, finishing behind Dartmouth and Boston College in a low-key season opener. Host team Dartmouth tallied 31 points en route to their victory in the nine-team race. BC took 44 points, and the Bears tallied 71.
"It was a good start, a good indication of where we are right now," said Head Coach Craig Lake of her team's performance.
The team is focusing more on the Heptagonal Ivy League Championship and improving on last year's disappointing seventh-place finish than it is on early season meets.
This race also marked the beginning of a new era for the women's cross country team, as Lake made her debut as head coach.
"Obviously, there are some adjustments, but I feel the team is handling it very well," Lake said.
One of the changes was put to the test during this race, as the women tried a new race strategy that Lake planned for them. Instead of setting a hard pace from the gun as they did in years past, the team began the season's opening race conservatively and ran the final two miles progressively faster.
As Saturday's race started off at 11 a.m. in the cool Hanover air, the women executed Lake's strategy, setting a relaxed pace. They settled toward the back of the pack for the relatively flat and uneventful opening mile.
Then, led by captain Anna Willard '06, the team began to gradually increase the pace, making up ground on its opponents.
"We didn't get passed," Willard said. "We passed everybody."
Willard was the first across the finish line for the Bears, coming in eighth place over the challenging 3.3-mile course. Willard was pleased with her performance, but is more concerned with her ultimate goal of placing in the top 15 individuals at Heps in late October.
In addition to a relaxed start, Lake's plan called for pack running with the intention of the women pushing each other to faster times. Aiding Willard was Michol Monaghan '07, who finished 13th, and Naja Ferjan '07, who was 18th.
Monaghan was also enthusiastic with the result of Lake's strategy. "We were picking people off as they tired instead of struggling to finish in the final mile and being passed by swarms of runners," Monaghan said.
Following the experienced lead trio of Bears was Lindsay Kahn '09, who impressed Lake by finishing 23rd in her college debut.
"I thought it was a good way to start the season," Kahn said. "It was different from high school. Being able to run as a pack with your teammates made it easier."
Rounding out the scorers for Bruno was Alex Brown '08, who was just three seconds behind Kahn.
The race came early in the season, as the women have not yet done any hard workouts in practice, which Lake said "bodes well for the end of the season."
As the Bears enter a new phase of their training, they will need to adjust to the higher mileage and more aggressive training that Lake has instilled. If all goes well, the team hopes to be in peak shape for Heptagonals on Oct. 28.
But the next meet with the lady harriers will be much sooner, as Brown travels to storied Van Cortlandt Park, N.Y., to compete in the Paddy Doyle Meet of Champions on Sept. 24.
