Bulldog runners ready to build on early success

Optimism is the name of the game for both the men's and women's cross country teams so far this season.

COURTESY ALEX ZEMEK Ryan Eckel, TC '00, finished strong at Fordham, placing second among Eli runners.

Following the Fordham Invitational on Sat., Sept. 12, in which the women's team took third place and the men's team finished in seventh, each squad has a good reason to feel confident about its chances for the rest of the season.

Last year, the women's team similarly placed third at the Invitational. They followed up on that performance by winning several meets in a row; however, the year ended in disappointing fashion as the team finished fourth at the Heptagonals, the meet that determines the Ivy League champion.

Yet women's captain Shannon Duff, PC '99, believes that history will not repeat itself this year. Last year the Bulldogs peaked too early, and Duff said that should not happen this year. "We're still getting into racing shape," she said.

Milly Grinstead, TC '02, said that the women's coach, Mark Young, ES '68, is taking steps to ensure that the Elis do not peak too early and that the team does not suffer too many injuries--both were problems that plagued the team last year.

Last year, Ariana Kelly, MC '99, finished first and Duff took third place overall at Fordham, but there was a huge gap between Duff and the next Eli runner. Duff was happy to note that this was not the case last weekend. She said, "This year the top six Yale runners were all within 40 seconds of each other. We had the tightest packing of any team."

Duff added that this is a good sign for the team's prospects in future meets. "We know that later on in the season we can beat the two teams [Duke and Brown] that beat us," she said. "The stars of September won't shine in November."

The men's team is also pleased with its performance last Saturday. Their seventh-place finish was an improvement on their eighth-place finish of a year ago, and some of their top runners did not run the meet, including men's captain Alex Zemek, DC '99 and David Schroedel, ES '00.

"This [meet] was good for some of the guys. The freshmen and [Rob] Doyle, DC '01, who was injured last year, got to run their first collegiate race," Zemek said. Doyle finished first among Yale runners. "Considering we had all these guys out, [this result] bodes well for the future of this season."

Both teams are prepared for their upcoming meet at the William and Mary Invitational on Sat., Sept. 26. Zemek, who will run his first race of the season , said there would be tough competition at the meet, especially from the host team, William and Mary, currently ranked in the top 10 in the nation.

On the women's side, Yale will get its first look at Ivy League rival Cornell and will have the opportunity to race against two strong teams, North Carolina State and William and Mary.

After the Paul Short Invitational on Sat., Oct. 3, the women's team will kick it into high gear on Fri., Oct. 9 when it races against Princeton and Harvard. Yale won this meet last year. "HYP [Harvard, Yale, Princeton] is the first meet we really start caring about," Grinstead said. "HYP is when you really start to focus."

Ultimately, the men and women hope all of their hard work and the lessons they've learned over the past few years will culminate in success at the Heptagonals on Fri., Oct. 30. And last Saturday's performance at Fordham only reinforces their optimism. "I'm not nervous about the season," Zemek said.

Duff added, "We set a good tone for the season. We know where we can improve. We're a tight unit, and that's going to be our strength on the season."

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