Volume CXXXII, Number 8 November 8, 2002 f

XC Xcellent in 2002
GRACE CHO
STAFF WRITER

Spandex was apparently the secret weapon that the Women's Cross Country Team used this past weekend at the NESCAC cross country championships. Sporting black tights with paw prints on the rear, the women blew by long time rivals Wesleyan and Bates in the chilly fall weather and placed third overall right behind running powerhouses Middlebury and Williams. The women have not shown a top three placing at NESCACs since 1995.

Head coach Peter Slovenski was awed with the performance of the women's team. He said, "This was a tough course, and we ran a courageous race. I was impressed with the intelligence and bravery we showed throughout the lineup. Our league is very talented and we're proud to be one of the top three teams in NESCAC."

Talented is a word that aptly describes the NESCAC league in the world of Division III cross-country running. For the past two years, both the national champion, Middlebury, and runner up, Williams, have come from NESCAC. When the women found they had placed third overall against such high caliber teams, it gave them a profound sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

"We really wanted to show NESCAC what we had to offer and I think we did just that," said senior captain Bre McKenna of the meet.

"We were psyched about our performance at NESCACs because our conference is one of the most competitive in the country. Williams and Middlebury are sure bets for first and second place in nationals, so placing third behind them was a great goal," said Kala Hardacker '04.

Leading the way for the Polar Bears was senior captain Libby Barney who placed 12th, posting a time of 18:54.94. Coming in 13th place after Barney was teammate Ellen Beth '05, running a time of 18:59.07. The women were able to place their top five scoring runners in the top 35, in a field of 127 athletes.

"Everyone stepped up and ran hard when we most needed it. We're definitely looking ahead to New England D IIIs as a time to really show what Bowdoin XC has to offer!" said senior captain Libby Barney.

As with the athletes, assistant coach Julia Kirtland is also excited to see how the women will fend against the rest of the New England field. Said Kirtland, "If they stay strong, run smart, and work together, they can do very well at Division IIIs."