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Volume CXXXIII, Number 11 |
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First-year Palmer runs to All-American honors at nationals
ALLIE YANIKOSKI
STAFF WRITER
For the second year in a row, the women's cross country team competed in nationals. Two weeks ago, at Hanover College in Indiana, first-year Neoma Palmer completed the 6K course in 16th place, earning All-American honors and leading Bowdoin to a 19th-place team finish.
Palmer raced with the top pack from the beginning and finished in 22:29, less than a minute and a half behind the second place finisher, who was a full minute behind winner Missy Buttry of Wartburg College.
"My biggest goal going into the race was that I would run without any regrets," said Palmer. "I wanted to look back at nationals this year knowing I could not have done better. I feel great about my race, but I did not feel as good during the race. I decided to run in a very difficult way - to go out fast and try to hang on. I am probably most proud of this previous race. Nationals was the best example of my determination and drive to run my fastest."
One of only seven first-year All-Americans, Palmer was the fourth-highest first-year finisher overall, and the second from the NESCAC. Head Coach Peter Slovenski said, "Neoma was very patient in her training and racing this year. She ran with the poise and composure of juniors and seniors."
Junior Ellen Beth finished second for Bowdoin, in 55th place overall in 23:20. The ninth NESCAC finisher, Beth finished ahead of the second place runner from rival Williams, the fourth place team finisher behind Middlebury, Trinity, and Wisconsin Stevens. "Ellen had a wonderful finish to her season," said Slovenski. "Ellen's efforts gave the team a big boost in the past two weeks."
Behind Beth, Livy Lewis '07, Kristen Brownell '07, Kala Hardacker '04, and Katie Landry '05 recreated their cohesive pack from the Division III meet, each finishing roughly ten seconds apart.
In her first season running cross country, Lewis finished the season running third for Bowdoin. She completed the course in 24:24, 150th place overall. Seven seconds later, Brownell crossed the finish line in 161st place. Just behind Brownell, Hardacker claimed 166th place with a time of 24:42, the fifth and last scoring team runner. Landry finished in 172nd, in 24:50.
After struggling with illness since the NESCAC meet, Audra Caler '05 bravely raced with her teammates, finishing 188th overall after dropping out of the race and then jumping back into it.
"It was awesome to be [at nationals], especially as a team," said Hardacker. "I think our enthusiasm for just being there was a huge advantage over the other teams, as we had worked all season to make it to NCAAs and we were so proud and excited to have actually qualified as a team."
"I think qualifying for nationals two years in a row is a big accomplishment," said Beth. "Our team probably felt more comfortable there this year than we had last year. The race [also] felt really different to us because it was much warmer, but we used the nice sunny day to enjoy racing against the top competitors in the country. I don't think we really felt any pressure, we were just happy to be at nationals."
"The course was lined with spectators as far as you could see," said Hardacker. "The trail was wide open in rolling fields, so the fans were very visible and completely audible for the entire race. At the finish there was a med tent filled with women who had collapsed or needed assistance, and that was something that we hadn't experienced yet this season."
A fitting culmination to a season that began in early June and only intensified, nationals became one more race for the Bowdoin women to exhibit their talent and determination. After a well-earned week off, the women have joined their track teammates to prepare for another promising season.
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