Women's XC clears away Ivy competition at H-Y-Ps

Right after the women's cross country team claimed its victory at Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet on Fri., Oct. 6, the runners celebrated by singing Yale's fight song with the men's team backing them up. The Bulldogs have every reason to be thrilled. With the recent landslide victory over its biggest Ivy rivals, the women's team now ranks 11th in the nation, out of nearly 250 Div-ision I teams.

V. STEPHANIE CARENDI/YH

According to captain Nancy Wolcott, BR '01, the team's current success can be attributed to the team's growing cohesiveness. The Bulldogs also heavily rely on their experienced veterans for guidance and leadership.

"Most of our returning components are back this season so we have gotten stronger in terms of running and team spirit," Wolcott said. Laura O'Neill, TC '03, added, "Seniors Nancy Wolcott, Katherine LaFrance [TC '01] and Katie Rigney [JE '01] set a great example by working hard everyday and by always being supportive of the team."

At the Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet, Yale defeated Princeton 18-43 and Harvard 15-47 to take home its second consecutive H-Y-P title. The team also saw sisters Kate O'Neill, TD '03, and Laura O'Neill finish first and second, respectively, with times of 17:31 and 17:36. This was Kate O'Neill's second first-place finish of the season; she previously took first place at the Fordham Invitational on Sat., Sept. 16. There, the Bulldogs destroyed the competition, with seven of the top eight finishers representing Yale in the H-Y-P victory. Laura O'Neill also pointed out that the team's strong work ethic and dedication greatly contributes to the runners' performance in meets. "I think that one of our strengths is the team's ability to work well together in practices and competition," she said. "We run together in practices and races and help each other stay on pace."

The team hopes to use the New England Championships on Fri., Oct. 13 in Boston to prepare mentally and physically for upcoming Heptag-onals at the end of the month.

Although many of the nation's top teams will not be attending the New England meet this weekend, the Bulldogs still plan to put in maximum effort and intensity—that means running in packs and strengthening their endurance. "Each competition is a step in progression towards winning a league championship, which is our primary goal," Head Coach Mark Young, ES '68, said. "In terms of training, we want to be at an optimal performing level near the end of October and the beginning of November." "We want to go to Nationals," Nadia Sawicki, TD '04, added. "We have work to do, but this team has the attitude and skill to do it. I really don't think that anyone knows how good this team is this year."

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