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(10/17/00 9:00am)
This weekend, the Penn women's cross country team felt that it could have done better.
Last year, the Quakers would have been celebrating this finish.
It just goes to show how far the Red and Blue have come in such a short time.
Depleted by injuries, the Quakers finished third on Saturday at the Lafayette Invitational with a score of 93 points. It was the fourth time they placed in the top three this year.
Penn followed St. Joseph's and Richmond in the team scoring.
Two of the Quakers' top runners were out this week. Penn junior Sam Desposito was held out because of tightness in her hamstring, while freshman Vanita Spagnolo started but did not finish the race because of breathing problems.
Among those who did run, Abbi Gleeson, a freshman, placed fourth with a time of 21 minutes and 53 seconds.
"Abbi Gleeson was the story," Penn distance coach Crickett Batz-Shaklee said.
Gleeson's time marked an improvement of 40 seconds since the last time the Quakers raced at Lafayette, during the first meet of the season.
"It was awesome," Gleeson said. "I ran really well."
While it was a great race for Gleeson, Penn sophomore Kristin Koch did not have her best outing, finishing 16th. Koch ran the course in 22:24. She led Penn with a 22:06 run in September.
"It wasn't a good race," Koch stated bluntly. "I had foot problems."
Among the Quakers, freshman Cristen Butler followed Koch, finishing in 22nd place with a time of 22:36. Senior Meridith Rossner followed four seconds behind in 23rd. Freshman Erin Okawa rounded out the Penn top five with a 28th-place finish in a time of 22:48.
Batz-Shaklee was extremely pleased with Okawa's performance.
"She was a minute and a half better [than in September]," Batz-Shaklee said. "She has put herself solidly in the top seven."
Despite some of these solid performances, the Quakers did not perform up to their own expectations. The team was hoping to be closer to St. Joe's and thought they should have beaten the Spiders.
The Quakers have a week off before travelling to the Heptagonal Championships at Van Cortlandt Park, in the Bronx.
"For the team, Saturday wasn't our best race," Gleeson said. "But with next weekend off, we'll heal from our injuries and should place well at Heps."
Koch was a little more direct.
"We're not going to be the doormat of the Ivies," Koch said.
Batz-Shaklee is optimistic for the Quakers' performance at Heps. She thinks the team will recover in time and will improve on last year's disappointing last-place finish.
The Red and Blue will be tapering -- running shorter speed workouts -- over the next two weeks to prepare for Heps.
"We obviously have to do better than last year," Koch said. "We want to be taken seriously."
(10/10/00 9:00am)
Sometimes anything but a win is disappointing. At other times, a team faces so much competition that a victory is virtually out of the question, and other achievements start to matter.
For the Penn women's cross country team, this was one of those "other times."
The Quakers finished 10th of a field of 34 teams in an extremely competitive field at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa., on Saturday.
Indeed, the teams in the race read like a Who's Who list of collegiate cross country. First-place Villanova was followed by talented squads from Cornell, Georgetown and Michigan State.
"This is probably some of the best competition we'll see all season," Penn sophomore Kristen Koch said. "It is much greater than what we faced before."
Finishing behind these powers was no disappointment for the Quakers, who were excited to finish in the top 10 of this prestigious race.
"We were aiming to do about 10th," Koch said. "The course was very fast and flat, and we all got out like we wanted to."
Koch finished 31st overall and first on the team, with a time of 22 minutes and 13 seconds. It was the second time this year she finished first on the Red and Blue.
Junior Sam Desposito finished in 42nd place, clocking in at 22:21. She was followed closely by freshman Abbi Gleeson, who finished 49th with a time of 22:28.
Desposito had been first on the team the previous two races, winning the Delaware Invitational and finishing second at Rutgers. She was named ECAC Athlete of the Week for the week of September 25.
The closeness of the members of the team was no real surprise, as the Quakers have been running very close as a pack all season.
"I just had a good day," Koch said. "I felt good."
The Quakers are happy with the pack mentality that they have had all season. With a young team that is very close in ability, they are able to stick as a pack somewhat even in big races.
The Quakers have two more big races coming up. Next Saturday is the Lafayette Invitational, a smaller race in which they will be looking to place highly.
On October 27, Penn faces its most important test when it races in the Heptagonal Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.
The Red and Blue will be looking forward to improving on their last place finish at Heps last year. The Quakers improved their place in the Paul Short Invite by 11 places this year.
For now, however, the Quakers can concentrate on continuing their surprising season. With a young team that has no place to go but up, they have a bright outlook.
On Saturday, the Quakers took one more step toward becoming an upper-tier team.
"We might have been able to do a little better," Koch said. "But why complain?"
(09/26/00 9:00am)
A week ago, the Penn women's cross country team ran one of its best races in recent memory, winning its first meet in almost three years at the Delaware Invitational.
It would be the only bright spot of the season, right?
Wrong.
With a very low score of 26, Penn outpaced host Rutgers by 28 points to win the Rutgers Invitational on Saturday. It was the Quakers' second straight win.
"I was extremely excited that we ran so well as a pack," Penn distance coach Cricket Batz-Shaklee said. "We are really working together as a team."
Indeed, the top five Penn runners finished only 43 seconds apart.
Junior Samantha Desposito finished second in the five-kilometer race in a time of 18:23, 33 seconds behind winner Julie Culley of Rutgers.
Desposito outsprinted a Manhattan runner to the finish. They were neck and neck the entire race.
Behind Desposito for Penn were freshman Vanita Spagnolo, freshman Abbi Gleeson and sophomore Kristen Koch. They finished fourth through sixth, respectively.
Batz-Shaklee was incredibly impressed with the ninth-place finish of senior captain Meredith Rossner.
"I am confident she can really run well for us," Batz-Shaklee said.
While Rossner has plenty of experience, Saturday was the first race for Penn freshman Caitlin Driscoll, a former figure skater.
Initially, the coaches held Driscoll back because of her lack of cross country experience. On Saturday, however, Batz-Shaklee said she looked very good, placing seventh among the Quakers.
Batz-Shaklee thinks Driscoll will run well for the rest of the season.
The 5K course at Rutgers, a one-time change back from the new 6K distance, did not hurt the Quakers, who did nothing different to prepare for the course.
"The course was very fast and flat," said freshman Cristen Butler, who finished sixth on the team. "It was a lot different, but obviously we handled it well."
For a team that in the past few years has had more than its share of disappointing finishes and heartbreaks, this quick turnaround is very welcome. The inexperienced, young group of runners has banded together and is making surprising strides so far in its 2000 campaign.
Coming into the season, the Quakers had not won a meet since the 1997 Lafayette Invitational.
"I did not know what to expect," Batz-Shaklee said. "But we really came together as a team. It's nice when you get a big incoming class."
Penn will now get a much-needed week off. The upcoming weeks will be tougher for the Red and Blue. Their next race is October 7 at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa.
"Next month will be very difficult, with tougher competition," Batz-Shaklee said. "But we're preparing for it."
For now, however, the Quakers can sit back and enjoy something they haven't had in a very long time -- a winning streak.
