After their performance at the Rowan Inter-Regional Battle, the Blue Jays hope to use this positive momentum as they prepare for the Centennial Conference Championships coming up this weekend. The Hopkins women’s cross country team looks to win their ninth straight Centennial Conference title at Haverford.
Coming into the Inter-Regional Battle, the women had much to prove. Ranked fourth in the preseason polls and having spent multiple years on top, the women would be up against both first-ranked SUNY Geneseo and second-ranked MIT.
The Jays were in unfamiliar territory as the underdogs. They claimed the NCAA D-III Championship title for three consecutive seasons between 2012 and 2014. Last season, however, they had a fourth place finish after being ranked first all season.
After a series of consistent showings so far this season, the Blue Jays exceptional finish at the Inter-Regional Battle amazed many who watched. With a total 70 points, the fourth ranked Jays took down first-ranked SUNY Geneseo and second-ranked MIT to run away with the unexpected win.
What was even more impressive than the win was the amount of depth the Blue Jays demonstrated. Hopkins placed their entire varsity seven in the top 25. To put things into context, the most any other team offered was two. Additionally, the women ran away with the win in the Open race as well, finishing with runners in the first four spots and totaling 17 team points.
Senior captain Lara Gaffney explained the importance this race has moving toward the postseason.
“The results from last week were a real morale boost for the team because they showed our depth and our ability to really control a race well,” Gaffney said. “It puts us in a really positive mindset going into Conferences and the postseason, which is ideal.”
After sweeping both the varsity and open races, the women moved back into their first place ranking in this week’s USTFCCCA Coaches’ Poll. The Jays were led by sophomore Felicia Koerner, who placed fourth individually and was subsequently honored as the Centennial Conference Runner of the Week, finishing the 6K race with a time of 20:56.
The seven other Blue Jays followed Koerner closely, all finishing in top 25 spots. The 39 second gap between the Jays’ seven runners will be crucial moving into the postseason.
The team’s ability to race in a tight pack could be what sets the Jays apart in championship races. Since the team’s score is not tallied until the fifth runner crosses the line, pack running is a particularly advantageous strategy that also intimidates opponents.
The Blue Jays dominated in the 2015 Centennial Conference Championship by claiming five of the top nine finishes. The first four Jays finished within an incredible 20 second spread to claim the first four individual places. However, Hopkins would not score until their fifth runner crossed the line 46 seconds after the first Blue Jay, Koerner. While the Jays still walked away with an impressive 19 team points (15 being a perfect score), the gap that remained between the front and fifth runner was unsettling.
Unfortunately for Hopkins, at last year’s NCAA Championship, opponents recognized the Jays’ weakness and were able to exploit it. With almost a full minute separating the Jays five scoring runners, Hopkins faced a fourth place finish after an otherwise dominant season.
“Last year’s fourth place finish was definitely disappointing,” Gaffney said. “It was tough because we had won three years in a row prior.”
With a strong group of seven runners all within 39 seconds of each other, the Blue Jays have solid reinforcement to lean on in case a runner has an off day. The tight pack-running that the Jays employ along with the changing momentum after the Inter-Regional Battle creates the perfect storm to bring the Jays back on top of the division. The Jays will use the excitement as a springboard postseason.
“Now that we’re first in the latest coaches’ poll there is some more added pressure, but I think more than anything there is excitement,” Gaffney commented. “Taking the poll into account with last year’s results, I think we are all just excited to give it another shot.”
Leading up to NCAAs, the women will be working towards peaking in the next five weeks. This weekend they will travel to Haverford College to defend their Centennial Conference title and make it nine straight conference titles.
