From Wesleyan with Love...

Rosa Klebb - "Training is useful, but there is no substitute for experience."
Morzeny - "I agree, we use live targets as well!"

Below is a video from the Wesleyan Invitational. Watch Smith attack a few of NESCAC's finest!

You are feeling very, very sleepy....

 Sophia was pooped after a big morning of mascotting!  Leslie makes a nice pillow.

 Remember, team: no sleep, no 50 second PRs!

Time for bed!  Go get at least eight hours of sleep!

Pictures from Wesleyan Invitational

Please email more pictures from race day if you've got 'em--thanks!

Race start, with Danielle leading the way, followed closely by a
strong Smith pack.  Way to get out fast, Smith!

Katie Ferral flies!

Victoria is about to make her move.

Abby, heading into the woods, with her eyes set on the Wesleyan runner in front of her.

Tough course does not deter Smith at Wesleyan Invite

Wesleyan described their course as a "true cross country course," and that certainly proved to be the case during Saturday's race.  The long, grassy straightaways of the course belied tricky footing and slowly sloping inclines that you would not notice until you tried to run fast.  There was also a stream crossing followed by a completely vertical hill at the 2.75 mile mark. The finish was particularly brutal. After the vertical hill, the runners emerged into the bright sunlight, only to continue going slightly uphill around a long field to the finish, which seemed to move farther away as they ran towards it.  What an intense race!

The course, however, was no match for the rugged Smith runners.  The team finished in third place behind Wesleyan and Bowdoin.  They edged out Coast Guard by eight points.

Danielle, Kylee, Abby, Micaela, and Katie F were the five scoring runners for the team.  Then came Courtney, Katie P-S, Cynthia, Kerry, Katie D, Bess, Lotte, and Leslie. 

One big highlight from the day was Micaela's HUGE personal record.  HUGE!  She came in at 20:16, squashing her old PR by 50 seconds.  This is especially impressive because she spent much of last year injured.  Another highlight was that this was Katie D's inaugural race--welcome to a crazy, intense sport, Katie!  Also exciting was seeing Kelly, who has spent the last month in a boot because of a foot injury, join the team for the warm up.

Excellent work, team!  Pictures to come soon.

Why all the fuss about chocolate milk?

Smith College cross-country and track & field assistant coach Lisa Richie gives a presentation on how a post-workout snack helps one recover, avoid injury and prevent soreness. This is part of a biweekly lecture series provided by the coaching staff. Subject matter ranges from nutrition, racing strategy, time management, goal setting, &c. Lisa's moral of the story?... 

no carbs = no glycogen = no energy = bad workout!

And if that carb happens to be chocolate milk... all the better!

What a way to start the season!

"SMITH FINISHES SECOND AT PIONEER INVITATIONAL," read the headlines across campus as junior Kylee Drugan-Eppich lead the Smithies in battle last weekend. Drugan-Eppich won the race with a time of 19:59.41 over a very hilly home course. First year Danielle Opatovsky placed a close second finishing in 19:59.81. Fellow first year Katie Ferrall also had a very impressive collegiate opener, placing fifth in a field of over 150 with a time of 20:19.44. Juniors Abby Mosca and Micaela Young were fourth and fifth for the Pioneers, respectively, with times of 20:49.13 and 21:42.52. Wellesley won the meet with 54 points. Smith placed second with 55, Coast Guard third with 80, WPI fourth with 96 and Mount Holyoke fifth with 115.

Drugan-Eppich was honored by the NEWMAC conference as Women's Cross-Country Athlete of the Week for her performance. The Smith Invitational was her first collegiate cross-country crown. Nice job Kylee!

Introducing...

...the 2012 Smith Cross Country Team!

What's so funny, Abby?  Micaela and Jaws - why such sour faces?  It's going to be a great year!

This year's team features eight runners who are new to the team and seven returning runners, including one senior--Kelly Beauvais--who recently returned from her year abroad in Italy.
Perhaps she will teach us a few Italian cooking secrets during team pre-meet pasta dinners.

Here's to a great 2012 season!  The team's first meet is this weekend on their home course.  For a schedule of the season, see below.  You'll notice that ALL of the meets are close by, so c'mon out to support the team!

Date	Opponent	Location	Time/Result	Details
9/8/2012	Smith Invitational	Northampton, Mass.	2nd/17	Details
9/22/2012	Wesleyan Invitational	Middletown, Conn.	12:00 pm	Details
10/6/2012	James Earley Invitational	Westfield, Mass.	11:00 am	Details
10/13/2012	Seven Sisters Championship	Wellesley, Mass.	11:00 am	Details
10/27/2012	NEWMAC Championships	Northampton, Mass.	11:00 am	Details
11/10/2012	NCAA Regionals	Westfield, Mass.	11:00 am	Details
11/17/2012	NCAA Championships (Rose-Hulman)	Terre Haute, Ind.	11:00 am	Details

Welcome to the 2012 Smith College Cross-Country Season!!! The Smithies have been busy preparing for the forthcoming autumn throw-downs by attacking hills and weight rooms... They're ready for the hunting season! Too many cats are in this conference, with cougars and Lyons and all... it's a pride for Pete sakes! There's room for only one! You better get fit because we're after you...