The Big Green men's and women's cross country teams finished 12th and 34th, respectively, in the Pre-Nationals meet at Indiana State University Saturday. Placement in the competition is crucial in the qualifying process for Nationals, according to men's co-captain Tom Robbins '11.
Coming off a first place finish in the New England Championships last weekend, the men recorded 384 points at the meet to come in 12th. The women, who came in sixth last weekend, earned 784 points to come in 34th.
"The meet was very intense with 70 of the top D1 schools racing at one time," men's coach Barry Harwick said.
The men's team was physically ready for the meet, but not as mentally relaxed as he had hoped, Harwick added.
Stanford University, Iona College and Florida State University were the top three respective finishers on the men's side.
Harwick said he was pleased that his team beat Ohio State University and Michigan State University two historically strong cross country programs.
Phil Royer '13 led the men's team, placing 36th overall. Royer ran a personal best five-mile time of 24:16. Ethan Shaw '12, Brad Kenimer '12, Robbins, Jon Gault '13, Adam Doherty '13 and John Bleday '14 rounded out the men's team.
Royer said that he hopes to compete as well at the Ivy Heptagonal Meet.
"I think I had the best race of my life on Saturday and I just hope I can do it again at Heps, when it really matters," Royer said. "Also, I think our team tends to get better throughout the season and we'll be looking to continue that trend down in New York in 2 weeks."
Gault is a member of The Dartmouth staff.
Robbins was not totally satisfied with the team's performance, saying that he the Big Green did well, but could have done better in the race.
"The rest of the pack after Royer were not up to full potential today and looked tired out there," he said.
Robbins added that he hopes everyone will be at full strength again soon.
Saturday marked Robbins' second injury-free race this season. Robbins acknowledged that he did not run his best race, but said that he was happy to be back.
"It feels good to be back running and contributing to the team," he said.
The Pre-Nationals meets are a good opportunity for teams to see how they stand against top teams across the nation, according to Robbins.
"Princeton has shown themselves to be a very strong team this year," he said. "We will try to beat Columbia at the Ivy Heptagonal meet."
Harwick said he will have the top 12 runners on the team train hard this week in preparation for the Ivy Heptagonal Championships in two weeks. The second half of the roster, which is running at the Mayor's Cup on Oct. 24, will have an easier week in practice.
On the women's side, the freshman class slotted three of the top five places for the Big Green women. Katelyn Walker '14, Amy Schuman '12, Hannah Rowe '14, Bridget End '14 and Lizzie Short '12 posted the team's best finishes. Walker, who was the first-place runner last weekend at the New England Championships, finished in 111th place.
The first three women's teams were Florida State, Arizona State University and Iowa State University. The other Ivy League teams at the race Princeton University and Columbia University finished seventh and 16th, respectively.
The women's cross country team will next race at the Mayor's Cup in Boston on Oct. 24. The team is also preparing for the Ivy Heptagonal Championships on Oct. 29.
