W. X-C to feature seven runners at ECACs, but Penn's best will sit out

The Penn women's cross country team seems to have been hexed this year. The annual East Coast Athletic Conference meet takes place tomorrow at Franklin Park in Boston and determines who will go on to run in the NCAA meet on November 25. It is the Quakers' last race of the season, and they will be running without two of their top runners. Perhaps because of a disappointing showing at Heps, only team captain Michelle Belsley ran at the ECACs last year. This season, however, the coaches have chosen the top seven runners from Heps to run. Belsley, as luck would have it, is injured, and junior Kirsten Gregory will not be running due to a death in the family. That leaves six runners -- sophomore Rita Garber, junior Kristin Duyck, junior Lorie Roth (eighth at Heps) and freshmen Stephanie Bell, Kacy Corbett and Anita Kumar. "They are a very young squad, and we are looking for nothing other than for the young kids to see what it's all about," Penn coach Betty Costanza. "It looks bleak on any type of scoring. It should be a bit overwhelming for them, but hopefully they will run well." The purpose of this race is to have more experience. None of the six runners have ever run at the ECACs before, and half of them are freshmen. This is an extremely competitive race and includes some of the top runners in the region. It seems that the coaches' focus is on experience, and they look at the ECACs as just another race. The team was granted a week off before Heps, but recently its hasn't had much practice time off. The Quakers are relieved because there doesn't seem to be any pressure to perform, but competition of such high caliber is still very daunting. "We are a great team, however, we really need to work on our racing ability," Kumar said. "With three freshmen running at ECACs, it is going to be rough. But if we can figure out how to race as well as we used to, we will do great." Another setback for the Quakers is the course itself, which is not well-suited to team's abilities. The flat, quick course rewards speed more than endurance and is best for fast teams who have particularly strong half-mile runners. Penn's top three competitors (Bell, Duyck and Garber) are all distance runners. Although Bell is intimidated by the competition and worried about the effects of the weather, she feels confident that the team will race better than it did at Heps. "We are going to have to work extra hard because it will be cold. It's the end of our season, and I'm sure that people are going to feel the effects of training," Bell said. "I think if we try, we can do really well. A lot of us were sick at Heps, and I think that we are better prepared than we were for Heps." This season has been a rough one for the Quakers, but despite the injuries and the illnesses, they remain optimistic. Tomorrow's meet will give them experience for future races and allow them to demonstrate the improvements they have made this season. "In the beginning of the season, [assistant coach Cricket Batz Shaklee] said that this race would be the icing on the cake," Roth said. "It's a huge meet, and we have the opportunity to run with some of the best in the nation. I think we're all excited to end on a good note."