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The Dartmouth
March 29, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Cross country teams prep for Heps at New England champs.

10.14.09.sports.tennis
10.14.09.sports.tennis

The Big Green cross country men's and women's teams competed at the New England championships on Saturday, where the women placed third and the men placed ninth.

The men ran an eight-kilometer race, while the women ran five kilometers. The men's top finisher was Phil Royer '13, who ran a time of 25:03, good for 14th place.

The men's team rested its top athletes during the New England championships, which gave Royer a chance to demonstrate his speed.

Royer's success in cross country may be a bit surprising, since he never participated in cross country during high school. Royer was a strong distance track runner, but focused on soccer rather than cross country.

The race, which was held at Franklin Park in Boston, showed the depth of the team, as a variety of freshmen and upperclassmen led the Big Green and scored points.

"In our top four or five, there are two '12s and two '13s," Amy Schuman '12 said. "It's really exciting that we have people that are young and that seem to have a lot of potential."

Schuman took eighth place, leading the women's team with a time of 18:15. It was her fastest time this season.

"I was shooting for low 18s," she said. "It's not quite like track, where you can shoot for a certain time. We shoot for being competitive and we have a goal for what we want as a team. [Head coach Maribel Souther] will often give us a place range, for example, in the top 40."

The Big Green's top runner, Tom Robbins '11, is expected to place well at the NCAA Pre-Meet at Indiana State University this weekend.

Robbins said he has his sights set on claiming first place at the Ivy League Heptagonals in November.

"I think being All-American would be a pretty good goal," Robbins said.

Although the men's cross country team lost two top runners to graduation last year, head coach Barry Harwick said he believes the loss isn't hurting the team as much as expected.

"We graduated two very good seniors last year who went to the NCAA championships," Harwick said. "Outside observers might have thought that we'd have a down year. I never thought that, and I don't think the guys on the team did either. I think we're already showing people we're going to be one of the top teams in the league this year."

The Ivy League Heptagonal cross country championships will be held on Oct. 30 at Columbia in New York, N.Y.

The Big Green has only a few more races until the NCAA Regional meet on Nov. 14 and the NCAA Championships on the Nov. 23.

Last season, the men placed 4th overall at the NCAA Regional meet and the women placed 13th.

After Dartmouth's trip to Indiana State this weekend, the men's and women's teams will return to Franklin Park in Boston to compete in the Mayor's Cup on Sunday, Oct. 25.