Nightingale, Tiger women will also run
By: Justin Feil
Close, but no cigar.
It’s been Frank Macreery’s experience with the Princeton University men’s cross country and track and field teams. Macreery made sure his senior fall season didn’t come up just short as he finished fifth at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Cross Country Championships in Bethlehem, Pa., Saturday, to qualify as an individual for the NCAA Championships to be held Monday in Terre Haute, Ind.
"I’ve had my fair share of near misses," said Macreery, who will be joined Monday by sophomore teammate David Nightingale, who was sixth at regionals. "Freshman and sophomore year, we were the first team not to qualify for nationals. Last year, I was the first person left out after districts, and the fourth (left out) nationally. In outdoor (track), I was the first person out in the 5k. I’ve never been too lucky."
Luck had nothing to do with Macreery making it this year. He’s steadily progressed each season since arriving from Brewster, N.Y.
"I feel like coming into college I was a good runner in high school," Macreery said. "But it wasn’t clear I’d be successful in college. I had confidence in myself. But I had a lot to improve. I haven’t had any breakthroughs, but I’ve had steady improvement."
Some narrow misses last year showed that Macreery was on the cusp of making the big step. He was out-kicked at the finish of the 10,000 meters at the Outdoor Heptagonal Championships, but the fact he was in a kick to the finish was a step in the right direction.
"What the track season showed me more than anything, I was able to actually race for the first time in college," Macreery said. "Up until then, I hadn’t been good enough to compete at the front of races against college runners. I was running all right and I was improving. But I never felt like I was racing like I did back in high school. For the first time since high school, I felt like I was in the thick of things.
"Having that experience, testing out new strategies, gave me new confidence. I used that in cross country this year. I’m racing differently. I’ve been racing a lot smarter."
Macreery covered the 10-kilometer Lehigh University course in 30 minutes, 12.2 seconds and Nightingale was a second behind him to also qualify as an individual. The Tigers team, true to Macreery’s past experiences, was third, one spot out of the automatic qualifying spot and maybe the first team left out among the NCAA Championship at-large bids. The Princeton women’s team qualified for nationals after winning the Mid-Atlantic Regional. Making it himself takes some of the sting away from the team’s disappointment for Macreery.
"Going into the season, it was kind of an expectation," Macreery said. "Last year, I was the first person to miss qualifying. I felt I’d come a long way from then. But to actually achieve it is something else.
"There’s a great sense of fulfillment. And I’m glad Dave made it. I remember when Austin Smith made it last year. It seemed a lot lonelier. To have Dave to train with, I feel it’ll make a big difference."
Macreery and Nightingale are looking for their best races of the season Monday. The two were 13 seconds apart at the Pre-NCAA meet Oct. 15 on the same Terre Haute, Ind. course that they’ll race on Monday. Macreery was 18th in the ‘White’ race while Nightingale was 31st.
Macreery expects that the fast runner’s in the championship field will push the pace early and some less qualified runners might try to keep up.
"If Dave and I race smart, we could pick off a lot of those guys," Macreery said. "The goal for Dave and I is to be All-American. If we do that, I’ll be happy."
It’s just the start to a senior year that Macreery hopes is turning for him. He feels prepared to have his top race in the biggest meet of the year. He’s been a solid leader all season for Princeton. He was third overall to lead the Tigers to a second-place finish at the Cross Country Heptagonals.
"We haven’t raced that much this season," Macreery said. "We had the first race, and it was more of a training run up at Van Cortlandt (Park, site of Heps). Since then, we’ve had four meets. I’ve raced pretty well. It’s still a mystery to me how I’ll race at nationals. I’m confident. I feel like if I have a good day, I could surprise some people. I could be All-American or Top 20."
Macreery is part of a Princeton team that has had a huge turnaround from the year before. The Tigers were fifth at Heps last year but came back to challenge winner Dartmouth this year. They were on the edge of reaching NCAAs as a team.
"I’d credit two things," Macreery began. "First, I think last year we had a lot of freshmen in our scoring Top 7. I think even though they were great runners, they weren’t experienced. Justin (Pines), Frank Tinney, they have more experience now and it shows. Another thing, last year we were still getting used to Coach (Steve) Dolan’s strategies. We didn’t have the sense of faith in his system that we do now. Everyone now has complete faith in his system.
"He makes sure we appreciate and understand what we’re doing too. His goal is for us to step to the line with full confidence in the training we’ve put in. Having an extra year with Coach Dolan has given us a lot more confidence in what he’s trying to do with us and what we’re doing with our training. The confidence is the biggest thing in racing. That’s been a big change."
Macreery is feeling confident about his chances Monday. He’s coming off a race at regionals that he knows he can improve upon at NCAAs.
"I didn’t race as well as I had hoped at the district race," he said. "I’ve been sick since the morning of Heps. It wasn’t anything major, but it drained me a little each day. Now that I’m over it and I have (had) a week between now and nationals, I’ll be able to get back to 100 percent. I’ve been training to the point where I’ll be able to peak and have another good race in me."
It’s his final cross country race as a collegian. Then, it’s on to the track season where Macreery hopes to exorcise a few more of those demons of narrow misses. After three years of missing out, he’s off to a good start with his first appearance at nationals Monday. It’s where he was hoping to end up when he arrived at Old Nassau four years ago.
"It’s hard to remember what I had in mind when I came here," Macreery said. "I know I wanted to be one of the top guys in the program. I knew Princeton was a great running program. That’s why I came here. To be leaving after this, it’s as much as I could have hoped for. I’ve done what I had hoped to do. I’m not sure what I expected of myself in terms of individual expectations. I think I wanted to be All-American. If I end up All-American, I have reached my goals."

