UPDATE

**UPDATE**

NEWMAC CHAMPIONSHIPS

ARE POSTPONED UNTIL

MONDAY, 31 OCTOBER 2011

MEN @ 3P

WOMEN @ 4P

If you are coming to cheer our women on please

drive safely. See you then! 

Smithies Prepare for Battle!

This weekend will see the Smith women battle it out for the NEWMAC Cross-Country Championship crown. Wellesley will be hosting the meet to be held at Franklin Park in Boston. Women begin racing at noon. The Pioneers have their eyes set on the Cadets... err... Midshipwomen... err... Coast Guarders (and not the kind you place on your coffee table, ba'dum chhh). It should be a good, hard fight, but we think we may sink their battleship...err... rescue dinghy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgDVU934HzA

Meet the Team!

Runners of the Week from the Past Two Weeks: 

Hania Thomas-Adams '12 and Courtney Collins '15

(Photo) Courtney and Hania smile for the camera as Kristin peaks in from behind.

Captain and Senior Hania Thomas-Adams made her first race appearance in three years on Saturday, October 15 at the Seven Sisters Championship! Despite a series of frustrating injuries that have prevented her from running for years, Hania has come to practice every day, completely committed to the sport and her team.  All her work finally paid off.  Not only did she race at Seven Sisters, but she raced well, placing fifth for the team.  All this from workouts done mostly on the elliptical!  Well done, Hania!

Hania passed on the Runner of the Week honors to first year runner Courtney Collins, from Cincinnati, Ohio.  Courtney wowed us all during the infamous "Michigan" workout last Tuesday.  This workout is mentally and physically tough, requiring multiple intervals on the track with very little recovery.  Courtney has always said that she loves running on the track, and now we understand why.  Great work, Courtney!

The team competes at Franklin Park in Boston, MA, this weekend for the NEWMAC Championship.

Smith Makes the New York Times!

Here is a photo of Smithie Julia Chase-Brand '64 at the AAU sanctioned Manchester Road Race.

 
Fifty years ago she defied the social constructs of womanhood and ran the race, though shunned. The New York Times wrote a very eloquent piece about this pioneer of our sport, referring to her as America's first true woman road racer. Check out the awesome article below:


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/sports/julia-chase-brand-a-leading-pioneer-in-womens-running.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Perhaps she was also a trailblazer in the name department? What do you think Drugan-Eppich, Kimball-Katz, Paulson-Smith and Thomas-Adams?

Last tempo at Child's Park

The Smithies completed their last tempo at Child's Park on Friday. Though sentimental to all, our seniors are sure to remember running hard under the beautiful autumn dawn on this final visit to the park. Note the rising sun in the background. Talk about dedication!

Just a few more...

Here are just a few more photos from last weekend's event at Bryn Mawr. As a side note, all photos on this blog are attached in their full scale. Parents, friends, Smith student-athletes, &c., if you'd like to keep these photos simply click on it so that it opens into a new window then drag it to your desktop. If you use a PC, right click on the photo then select save image.

 Coaches at work...

 Student-athletes warming up on course...

 Taking off from the start line...

 Victoria leading Wellesley...

 Caroline coming home...

Kristin and Sophia exhausted and heading back to Smith.

Meet the Team!

Runner of the Week: Abby Mosca

Abby gets taped up before the race.

Abby Mosca, a sophomore from New Hampshire, earned the honor of Runner of the Week after her stellar performance at Open New England Invitational at Franklin Park, October 8.  She showed her talent and team dedication even more heartily this past weekend at the Seven Sisters Invitational.  During this race at Bryn Mawr, Abby took on the role of "pack leader." The goal was to establish this season's first real pack appearance on the trail, intimidating all competitors with four Smith uniforms one beside the other during the race--not to mention improving the team score by finishing close together.  Abby slowed her speed slightly in order to pace and encourage Victoria, Kristin, and Katie to stick together and with her through the first two miles.  Abby's leadership led to each of those runners improving their times 12-30 seconds from last week's race; and, despite spending much of the race communicating with and encouraging the pack, Abby's overall time slowed by only 11 seconds compared to last week's 5k.  Phenomenal work, Abby!

Smith Competes at Seven Sisters

Yesterday, Smith College competed at the Seven Sisters Cross-Country Championships hosted by Bryn Mawr College. The women placed fourth as a group, following first place Vassar, second place Wellesley and third place visiting team Swarthmore. Smith bettered visiting team St. Catherine, Bryn Mawr and Mount Holyoke. Caroline Kimball-Katz earned First-Team All-Seven Sisters honors by placing sixth as an individual over the 5k course. She ran 19:36 and was followed by a great group of fellow Pioneers including Victoria Dunch, Abby Mosca, Kristin Peck and Katie Paulson-Smith. They ran 20:22, 20:39, 20:47 and 21:12, respectively. Both captains, Hania Thomas-Adams and Liza Rosenfield, competed and finished the race, which is awesome considering they have both been battling injuries throughout the season.

The cross-country championships once featured all Seven Sisters teams including Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Smith, Radcliffe, Mount Holyoke, Vassar and Wellesley. Since its inception in 1982, which saw Barnard take home the Smith College Alumnae Cup (the championship's annually awarded trophy), two teams have combined with other programs. Barnard athletes now compete under the Columbia insignia and Radcliffe College, as an institution, merged with Harvard. Today, the remaining five continue to uphold tradition and contest the yearly race. Vassar won the 2011 edition

Below are some pictures from our time in Bryn Mawr.

Results from Open New England Championships

First year Smithie Caroline Kimball-Katz ran 19:31 over the 5k course at Franklin Park to place an impressive 95th at the Open New England Championships. Abby Mosca and Victoria Dunch were close behind and ran 20:28 and 20:39, respectively. Kristen Peck ran 21:03 and Katie Paulson-Smith 21:41 to round out the scoring team. As a whole the women placed 30th beating NEWMAC rivals WPI (35th), Mount Holyoke (36th) and Springfield (37th).

Thank you to all the parents who brought food to the meet. It was much appreciated by both student-athletes and coaches. See you all next week at Bryn Mawr for the Seven Sisters Championships.

Smith College "Float Night"

Float Night, a tradition since 1952, features canoes decorated and maneuvered by Smith College students. The event is open to students of all college houses, organizations and athletic teams on campus and is held annually as a way to "get the Smith Community more involved with the Athletic Association." Students enjoy music and root beer floats while watching the decorated water vessels float along the calm waters of Paradise Pond. The canoe's passenger, though, are not so calm. Check out the Smith College cross-country team at last night's event!

Bringing Together the Best of New England

This weekend Smith College will travel to historical Franklin Park and compete in the Open New England Cross-Country Championships. Colleges and universities of all divisions will be contesting the race with the Pioneers running at 12:30p. Follow this link to find information on the schedule, past meet results and a course map: http://www.neicaaa.org/XC/franklinmap.html.

We will also be having a bake-off after the meet! Parents and friends, please bring something of the following variety:

Evil stepbrothers with runny noses, bring something more like this:

See you all at Franklin!