PU hopes to fulfill potential

Women’s cross country opens Saturday

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   The Princeton University women’s cross country team welcomes three 2006 Footlocker National finalists to bring its total to five.
   ”Three in one year is a lot,” said PU head coach Peter Farrell, adding, “for anybody.”
   Caitlin McTague understands well the expectations that come with the Footlocker foundation for Sarah Cummings from Newport Beach, Calif., Liz Deir of Lima, N.Y., and Ashley Higginson of Colts Neck, N.J. McTague was in their shoes four years ago.
   ”My junior year I went to nationals,” McTague said. “It was pretty hard to come in with those credentials. I don’t think I’ve realized my top performance yet.”
   As senior captain of the Tigers, McTague is prepared to have her best year. She has been anticipating the start of this cross country season for a while. The Tigers open their season at the Fordham Invitational on Saturday.
   ”I feel so honored to be leading such a good team,” McTague said. “It’s incredible. I can’t believe how quickly the year has gone by. Cross country is always my favorite. I had a really good outdoor season. I’m hoping to build on that. I usually hate outdoor, running on the track, but I think if I’m able to excel in an area I usually don’t do well in, this season should be incredible.”
   There are incredible expectations for the Tigers. They add a terrific freshmen class that includes the three Footlocker finalists to a lineup that returns four of its top seven from last year’s team that won the Heptagonal and Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships and finished 23rd in the NCAA Championships.
   Liz Costello, the other former Footlocker finalist, Christy Johnson and Alexa Glencer all shared in the championship as freshmen last year and return for their sophomore year. Fellow sophomore Reilly Kiernan is out for the year with a stress fracture while Jolee VanLeuven, a junior who was the Tigers’ top finisher at nationals last fall, is scheduled to return as soon as she is healthy.
   ”The freshmen, no matter how good they are, it takes time to adjust to the system and the talent,” Farrell said. “They’re not even in classes yet. The sophomores, Christy Johnson and Liz Costello, look terrific. Caitlin is a senior, and a terrific leader. Megan Brandeland is back. She looks very good. We have a good group of candidates to lean on.”
   Farrell has tried to shelter his team from the enormous expectations. Following practice Wednesday, he encouraged them to spend some time bonding during the preseason.
   ”We put enough pressure on ourselves with schoolwork and our own expectations for our running,” McTague said. “He doesn’t want to add to them. He’s actually the one that suggested we go to the beach today. He told us to get some sun.”
   Even among themselves, the Tigers runners haven’t been discussing their lofty potential.
   ”We really don’t talk about it too much,” McTague said. “We know what has to be done. It’s not something we talk about, to be honest. We just talk about what classes we’re taking and what professors to avoid.”
   The Tigers won’t put much stock in Saturday’s season opener, though last year it served notice of the potential of Costello, Glencer and Johnson. They were the top three finishers in the 2006 season opener before McTague crossed the line as the first upperclassman in ninth place overall.
   ”They were just good,” Farrell said of last year’s freshman introduction. “They were not as heralded as we thought they were. They overachieved right away. Christy Johnson finished 45th in the Footlocker Northeast. She was not highly touted. She blossomed since then. Costello was a Footlocker finalist, but it was only her second year running cross country. She bloomed late. You want late bloomers, not kids that are burnt out.”
   Princeton won’t burn itself out on the first race of the year. It will use the Fordham Invitational as a more intense workout session, rather than an all-out race.
   ”Now is the honeymoon period,” Farrell said. “They’re just training. It’s hard to see how we’ll be until we see some competition.
   ”I don’t know if the team feels those high expectations, but our expectations are always to win the league and finish in the top 10 at nationals. I hope they know that and it doesn’t bite them. That’s what the program is.”
   McTague is one of three seniors along with Kim Bonner and Heather Iatauro in a program that will have plenty of youth. There is a buzz to being a part of the team.
   ”It will be interesting to see who ends up in the top seven,” McTague said. “We’re just enjoying being able to run with a group of talented girls now.”
   McTague admits that being surrounded by that sort of talent could be intimidating. She is hoping that her offseason work pays off with a spot among the top seven on the Tigers. It will be up to Farrell to try to work out over the next month who will compete for Princeton when they reach the championships races.
   ”I’ve never seen him this happy during a preseason,” McTague said, adding, “I think he’s happy because everyone has taken training so seriously. Everyone came in in good shape, and we’ve been running as a pack, not racing, which we have a tendency to do sometimes. We’ve been staying together — not letting girls fall off. I think he’s thrilled we have such camaraderie. He’s happy we’re so deep.”