SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Williams College women's cross-country team had its top five runners all earn All-American honors as the Ephs captured second place at the NCAA DIII Championship in Spartanburg, S.C. on Saturday morning.
The Ephs had a spread of just 11 seconds in their top four and less than a minute between all seven runners, earning an impressive team score of 106. The team finished behind NYU, whose team score of 79 captured the win.
"A lot of years, a score right around 100, with five All-Americans, is a pretty good recipe to win the meet," said Head Coach Dusty Lopez. "There's nothing to fault in the team's effort. They were prepared, they were fired up, ready to go. Everything was in place, and we just ran into a team having a better day than us.
"I love the team aspect of cross country," continued Lopez. "I love that there's actually chemistry that develops among a group, and there was definitely a team ethos to this group; an energy that they drew from each other. So I look at us as the best team in the field, especially if you look one through seven."
"It's been such an incredible season," said senior captain Kate Swann. "It's been so inspiring to have such a strong group of women, and to go out on a note where we had five All-Americans, and second in the nation, that's just so incredible."
The team contended with not just a strong field, but surprisingly warm and humid conditions on a course that provided no shade for the runners.
"It was definitely tough out there with the heat," said senior captain Charlene Peng. "It was pretty warm. I was feeling it. But I'm proud of the way we were able to run together and push each other and motivate each other throughout the race whenever we saw each other."
Juniors Tamar Byl-Brann and Morgan Eigel were the top two across the line for the Ephs, finishing 18th an 20th with times of 21:30 and 21:34 for the 6k race.
Next across the line were seniors Peng (22nd, 21:38) and Swann (27th, 21:41). Sophomore Kate Tuttle was the final Eph earning All-American status, finishing 40th in 22:02. Fiona Picone (46th, 22:07) and Jordan Liss-Riordan (62nd, 22:21) both passed many runners in the second half of the race and extended the gap between the Ephs and the rest of the field.
"It was a really, really wonderful day," said Swann. "It was a really gritty race for all of us. Pushing hard, working for everyone out there, and giving it all we had. It was really rewarding to see that." ?
As has been the case throughout the season, the Ephs finished in a tight spread, with teammates even running alongside each other for large portions of the race.
"That's a big strength, because it can bring a lot of comfort to know that you're with your teammates," said Swann. "I know that when I would see the cow print [uniform] come from the side or up ahead, it was really good motivation to keep pushing and do it for the team."
"We have a lot of people who are just at such a high level and are able to train and race together," said Peng. "We make an effort to pump each other up in races whenever we see the cow print."
Among the highlights for the team was the performance of the three senior co-captains: Swann, Peng, and Picone.
"It's been amazing to watch [the seniors]," said Lopez. "Kate Swann grew up in Williamstown, and decided [late] to come to Williams… had a breakout season last year, and then just completely became rock solid for us this year, which is amazing."
"Fiona had the same kind of steady progression, going from somebody that was on the fringes of contributing to the team score to really being a key part of a second-place team at Nationals; that's a pretty amazing progression. And Charlene is unique in that she wasn't even on the team her first year… but she's a hard worker who has made huge improvements, leaps and bounds."
"All three have been awesome examples of consistency and development, and great teammates," said Lopez. "I was happy for them to end on this type of high note, where they all had races that they could feel proud of."
The performance wrapped up a season in which the Ephs won every other race they entered, including winning NESCAC and Mideast Regional Championships, but the team will look back on the experience more than any one individual result.
"It was just a really great experience," said Peng. "I'm so proud of our whole team and what we've been able to do this season. I couldn't be happier. There is no one else I'd rather do this with."
"We're so lucky to be on this wonderful team and have spent four years with these really wonderful women," said Swann. "I'm so excited to see what they continue to do, because the future of this team is just so bright for Williams."
