The Johns Hopkins Men's and Women's Cross-Country teams competed in the Centennial Conference Championships in Carlisle, Pa. last Saturday, with the men finishing sixth out of nine schools and the women placing seventh out of 10 schools. "We didn't fare too well," said Head Coach Bobby Van Allen.
Senior John Apperson finished with the fastest time for the Jays for the third consecutive meet with a time of 28:07 and a 26th place finish. Junior Dave Courson, who has three of the top nine times for JHU this year, was close on Apperson's heels with a 29th place finish at a time of 28:12. Five other Jays finished under the 30 minute mark, with junior Jamie Parks finishing at 28:43, sophomore Steven Chu at 28:47, and freshmen Dan Raposa at 29:34, Eric Scrivner at 29:48 and Alex Gochal at 29:49, respectively. This marked the first time Gochal finished under 30 minutes. The team finished with a total of 171 points. The Haverford team won the meet with a total of 17 points, while Ursinus came in last with a total of 256 points.
"The men simply did not run up to their potential," Van Allen stated. The women's team, which finished with a total of 164 points, only five points from sixth place Muhlenberg, was once again led by junior Hilary Knipe, who has been the top finisher for the Jays four times in the past five meets. She finished only 11 seconds off her best time of the year, with a time of 20:03 and a 24th place finish.
Sophomore Heather Blair, who ran even though she was extremely ill, followed with a 28th place finish and a time of 20:16. Even though Van Allen said that Blair ran "well below her potential," due to her illness, he commented that "she still ran her heart out and put her own health on the line for the sake of the team."
Freshman Peggy Chu, who Van Allen says "has continued to improve throughout the season," was close behind Blair with a 30th place finish at a personal best time of 20:18. Freshman Tiffany Miceli finished in 37th place, with sophomores Anna Stirgwolt and Claire Gaden following at 21:04 and 21:09, respectively. Stirgwolt ran her best time of the year.
Van Allen was especially impressed with Black's effort because of her injuries throughout the year. "Heather [Blair] and Stephanie [Black] both showed their value to the team with their efforts on Saturday," said Van Allen. Dickinson came out a narrow winner in the meet, with a total score of 37 points and a two-point edge over second-place Haverford. The fourth through seventh place teams were separated by only 31 points.
"We fell a bit short of our goals," commented Van Allen. However, he also explained that the women's teams in the Conference had a very strong year, with two nationally ranked teams.
Van Allen remains confident and insists that "the team has quickly put the meet behind them and is focused more than ever on redeeming themselves at regional championships." Both teams will compete in the NCAA Regional Meet at Lehigh University on Saturday, Nov. 10, where Van Allen believes the teams can "get revenge on the teams that beat us on Saturday.
