ENDORSEMENTS

The Princeton men’s and women’s cross country teams took on the nation’s top collegiate squads in the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship Races Saturday in Terre Haute, Indiana. Several days of steady rain, a hard freeze on race day eve, and an ever-present bitter northern wind transformed the Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course into a shoe-sucking sea of pudding-like mud – the kind of tough conditions that make old school cross country purists smile.

The Princeton men – runners-up in last week’s NCAA Mid–Atlantic Regional meet – rang up 469 points on the 10,000 meter course to finish 22nd in the 31 team field. Seniors Tyler Udland [47th in 30:53.55] and Alejandro Arroyo Yamin [73rd in 31:03.5] were the top Tiger performers. Juniors Sam Pons [113th in 31:24.6], Matt McDonald [135th in 31:37.5] and Connor Martin [208th in 32:26.1] rounded out the scoring for Princeton.

In the women’s race, freshman Megan Curham concluded a sparkling fall season, covering the 6000 meter course in 20:42.3. Curham’s 34th place finish earned her All-American recognition – one of only three freshmen nationwide to capture that honor. The women’s team – which gained a coveted at-large invitation to Terre Haute at last week’s regional meet – had a tough afternoon scoring 703 points to finish 30th in the 31 team field. Scoring behind Curham were sophomore Kathryn Fluehr [186th in 21.56.0], junior Emily De La Bruyere [209th in 22:09.8], freshman Elizabeth Bird [214th in 22:13.6] and sophomore Kathryn Little [222nd in 22:18.3]. The Lady Tigers – with 6 of the top 7 returning next year – should benefit greatly from Saturday’s national championship experience.

Princeton joined Dartmouth as the only Ivy League schools to qualify full men’s and women’s teams for Saturday’s NCAA national championship races.