Morrow defines leadership for W. X-C

Webster's Dictionary defines "leader" as "someone that goes at the head of and directs the operations and performances of." It seems that Webster's has left a key definition out of its ninth edition – Maggie Morrow. Morrow's teammates and coaches all seem to mention the same characteristic about the 5-10 junior co-captain of the women's cross country team. "She's been our No. 1 runner all year," assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "She's our captain. She's done an incredible job of leading these young women and setting an example. She's a very, very fine role model. Her disposition as well as her running has always been top quality." "She's been the leader of the team all season," junior teammate Jenee Anzelone said. "She hasn't really gone up or down like everyone else. She's been really consistent, not only in races but also off the track. Emotionally, she's very supportive." "She's been a great leader all year," sophomore teammate Melanie Gesker said. "She's always up in the top and real consistent. She's always there for us if we need to talk to her, not just about running, even school." However, it wasn't always this way for the Cranford, N.J., native. Although she has been running since her freshman year of high school, Morrow didn't really go at it with full intensity until junior and senior year. "I wasn't really serious freshman and sophomore year," Morrow said. "I used to cut practice and stuff. But, by my senior year I was real serious and came [to Penn] with the intention of running." When Morrow arrived at Penn, the women's cross country team was nationally ranked. Therefore, since day one, she's had to work extra hard to prove herself. But dedication does pay off in the long run, and Morrow is a prime example of that. "When she first got here, the team was nationally ranked," Tenisci said. "She has had to bide her time to be in the position she's in at this point. She's worked her way up the ladder to be No. 1. Maggie has paid her dues. She's been through a lot of aches and pains like all runners, but she's always able to come back in real fine shape. She always knows what's expected of her without even having to be told." The cross country team takes pride in being so close. Most of them live together and a large percentage of the Quakers are juniors. Morrow has taken the position as the "leader of the pack" and does not have second thoughts about letting her teammates hear about it. "We are all very close," Morrow said. "That definitely helps us. I am not afraid to yell at [my teammates] if they do something wrong." "When we're running, if I fall back or something, she'll be screaming at me 'get the hell up here, where are you going?'," Anzelone said. "She always does that. She's not thinking of herself. You're hurting out there, but she's not trying to beat you out. When she goes by someone, she's always grabbing your shirt or something." Morrow cites assistant coach Cricket Batz Shaklee as her biggest influence here at Penn. Because Shaklee just graduated from Penn in 1986 and captained the 1984 and 1985 cross country teams, she has a lot to teach the younger runners. Morrow like to take the same approach trying to help her younger teammates. "Practices are really scary when you are a freshman," Morrow said. "I know that and I want to help the girls as much as possible." The Quakers finish their season this weekend November 12-13 at the ECAC Championships in Morgan Park, Va. Surely, somewhere near the front of the pack, yelling at her teammates and pushing them along will be captain Maggie Morrow. "Her dedication and work ethic have really been instrumental in keeping this team together," Tenisci said. "She's just a really fine example for everyone to look at. It's tough holding your No. 1 position because you have to be on all the time. She's done a great job with that. It's deserving of her to be recognized as our No. 1 runner." "I'd really like to improve and establish myself more," Morrow said. "I'd like to leave here knowing I accomplished something here."