Brandeland is surprise contributor for Tigers
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Megan Brandeland was among the top 20 runners in her native Minnesota, but she came to Princeton University as a triple jumper.
Four years later, the senior helped the Tiger women’s cross country team finish fifth at the NCAA Championships on Monday, the highest finish in program history. Brandeland was the Tigers’ second finisher, 52nd overall.
”It’s been great,” said Brandeland, a co-captain along with fellow senior Jolee VanLeuven. “I’m so proud of everybody.”
Liz Costello was the Tigers’ top finisher. The junior earned All-America honors with her 15th-place finish. Behind Brandeland was freshman Alex Banfich. VanLeuven was Princeton’s fourth in 71st overall and Reilly Kiernan was 77th to round out the scoring. Washington was the team champion with 79 points. Fourth-place West Virginia scored 198 and Princeton was fifth with 220.
”I asked them to score 230 points,” said PU coach Peter Farrell. “Two hundred thirty points every year is third place. We scored fewer points, but the meet was more top-heavy than ever before. The top 7 have been the same all season. They’re good teams.”
Finishing among them served as redemption for the Tigers, who were ranked fourth last year before nationals but faded to 14th in the race. Like last year, they went through this season unbeaten until nationals.
”Every meet was a stepping stone,” Brandeland said. “We’ve been looking at Nov. 24 since we started running.”
Once that date arrived, the Tigers made sure they made the most of their return.
”Look at Costello,” Farrell said. “She was on a mission to redeem herself. There was no stopping her. We had a great game plan to start off at the back of the first pack, which she did. She was in perfect position and she finished strong too. That hurt her last year to do that and it’s been on her mind ever since to get some redemption. Costello did that and so did the team. They went in fourth and didn’t want to end up 14.”
Added Brandeland: “We definitely wanted to go back and show them that Princeton can be up there with the best schools. We learned a lot from last year. We had similar advice for each other – stay calm and relaxed, not getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of the race.”
Experience has been vital for Brandeland’s development. She came to the Tigers expecting just to compete in the track and field seasons. Cross country was not on her mind and hadn’t even been her top event in high school.
”Compared to my teammates now, my resume from high school is pretty pathetic,” Brandeland said. “The triple jump was kind of my main thing. I did more 800s and stuff like that.”
She stuck with the triple jump in her freshman year, though she experimented with some middle distance in the fall and a little long distance on the track in the spring. When she couldn’t stay healthy as a jumper, she decided her future lay in running.
”I came back and did cross country and fit right in with the team,” Brandeland said. “There’s a mentality, you just click.
”I had a couple great steeplechase races in the spring of sophomore year. Being injured freshman year, I was careful about mileage and training. I held back a little bit. Over the summer after sophomore year, I was in Italy. I was worried I wouldn’t have anywhere to run when I was in Rome. I had a gorgeous area to run. I couldn’t lift or swim. It was just running. I figured the best way to get better at running is to run more.”
She returned to have a breakout junior season of cross country. She vaulted to the Tigers’ third finisher by the catastrophic nationals last year, and this year finished No. 2 for Princeton, to help make up for the loss of one of its top runners, Christy Johnson, to injury last spring.
”Sophomore to junior year was a big jump for Megan,” Farrell said. “To finish 52nd at nationals, it’s not far from All-American. She was 15th from last at the half-mile. The plan was to go out conservative, but not that conservative. She came back well.”
Explained Brandeland: “Experience helps a lot. I never knew what that meant as a freshman. You hear it, but you think you’ve run races in high school and everything. It’s different in college.”
It’s a little more special when you’re Megan Brandeland. Unlike her teammates, she didn’t come to Princeton expecting to be a part of a top-five national cross country program. She exits now as part of the best team in program history.
”It’s pretty amazing,” Brandeland said. “The nice thing about Princeton, we’re so busy we sometimes don’t have time to stop to think about our accomplishments and what we’ve done. I try not to put too much focus on my running. My parents remind me it’s a big accomplishment. I just love everyone on the team. It’s such a great privilege, and that’s how I think of it more than anything.”

