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Volume CXXXIII, Number 7 |
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A little healthy competition between teammates: The women's perspective
ALLIE YANIKOSKI
STAFF WRITER
Amid taunts reverberating through the crisp fall air, 13 members of the Bowdoin Women's Cross Country Team stiffened on the starting line, prepared to face their most dangerous and bloodthirsty competition of the season: the men's cross country team.
On Homecoming weekend, Coach Peter Slovenski combined the women's and men's 5K races in order to be more efficient. As a result, the women thus faced not only their post-graduate teammates, but the men also.
The women's team viewed the race not as a stressful occasion, but as an opportunity to run a fast time. However, the pride of the men's team was challenged.
"We went out there to have a good time and run a good workout," says Jill Schweitzer '06. "It was a great training day for important things like NESCAC's this coming weekend. The boys came barreling through during the third mile like all was at stake. It was kind of amusing watching them run so concerned about being beaten by GIRLS!"
In order to nullify the gender disparity in athletic ability, Coach Slovenski knew that he would need to allot the women a head start so that he could still score by place. On the eve of the race, Coach Slovenski met with a representative mathematician from both the men's and women's teams, settling on a delayed start of 3:20 for the men.
At the sound of the buzzer, the women confidently strode across the grass, running past fellow female athletes on the soccer and field hockey teams before crossing the practice football field, surging into the woods, and cruising past the field hockey scoreboard. The women covered a solid half-mile before the men's team charged off the line like a pack of crazed rabbits.
The women ran with light steps and loose strides, working together to meet their goals. Audra Caler '05 and Neoma Palmer '07 led the way, crossing the finish line ahead of all competitors. Caler's time of 19:10 and Palmer's time of 19:17 proved to be too quick for any of the men. Twenty seconds behind Palmer, male leader Scott Herrick '04 scooted into third place, followed by Owen McKenna '07, Andrew Combs '06, Pat Hughes '05, and Ben Peisch '05.
"The men's team wasn't prepared for the hurt I unleashed on them," said Caler. "I just coasted for the entire race because Scooter and Owen have nothing on me. They all went down-HARD."
The third finisher from the women's team was Ellen Beth '05, who ran 20:04, just ahead of Livy Lewis '07 and Kristen Brownell '07, in 20:11 and 20:12, respectively.
"I feel like the men's team used some unfair strategies," says Beth. "When Hughes and Andy Combs tag teamed me in the final mile by passing me with some crazy kicks, I was really at a loss. I was just so dumbfounded that I couldn't react. Why would they want to be so competitive about a race against runners from their own school?"
With testosterone raging uncontrollably, Taylor Washburn '04 and Eric Sofen '07 sprinted past Allie Yanikoski '06 in the final third of a mile. Seconds later, Ben Martens '06 led an anxious pack of men.
"Once the race started, I got into the zone," says Martens. "I focused just on catching the next girl. That was the only thing that kept me going-catching the next girl, and making sure she knew that she just wasn't fast enough."
Yet, many girls were not only fast enough, but too fast. Jeb Bobseine '07, Mike Record '06, and Dan Hall '05 sprinted their hardest, edging Katie Landry '05. Aaron Goldstein '05 pulled a similar stunt, surging by Schweitzer, the eighth member of the women's team. Chelsea Spector '04, Alix Roy '07, Claire Discenza '05, Catrina Cartagena '07, and Kristen Lycett '07 rounded out the female Polar Bear contingent.
"For us, desire is not something that we summon up for an important meet. It is a way of life," says Record. "The mere sight of those girls daring to challenge our supremacy on the course aroused our iron will to win. Thus, we look ahead to our NESCAC prey while the women moan and complain and the alumni wither away in wheelchairs."
True enough, the alumni did not pose either the men's or women's teams with a threat. However, in highlighting the men's "iron will to win," Record unwittingly exposes the fundamental strength that the women hold over the men: restraint. Knowing that the impending NESCAC meet is only the beginning of a string of championships, the women viewed the race against the men as another day of training, allowing the men to boost their egos with a win.
While the men may have proved that they are faster than most of the women's team, they simultaneously demonstrated the inter-team reciprocity. Although last Saturday was unusual in matching the women against the men, it was common for its purpose: providing both teams with an opportunity to train together and push each other to improvement.
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