Without Bishop, Cross-Country Places Third in SCIAC Championships
By Susannah Edelbaum
Sports Editor

The Pomona-Pitzer cross country teams traveled to Prado Park in Chino on Saturday, November 2, for the SCIAC Championships. The women Hens placed third out of eight teams, moving their overall record to 5-2, good enough for third place in SCIAC. P-P finished the day with 63 points, trailing rival CMS with 40 points, and SCIAC leader Occidental who had 30 points. Both teams are presenting stiff competition for the Hens this season. According to Coach Kirk Reynolds, P-P’s times and overall score this year would have put the Sagehens in first or second place in past years.

Though the Sagehens finished well, team captain Laura Bishop ’03 was unable to finish her race because of severe knee tendonitis. This made for a more “frustrating day,” according to Kyra Borg ’06, as Bishop is P-P’s strongest runner. The race was also disappointing because Bishop had been a strong contender for being named SCIAC’s Runner of the Year after finishing first at the SCIAC multi-duals two weeks ago.

“She was breathing very comfortably and was right with the lead pack past the two mile mark at the SCIAC meet, but the continual up and down changes on the course caused her knee to start locking up,” Reynolds said. However, he feels Bishop is in pretty good shape for next Saturday’s West Regionals.

“If she can work through the pain, she can be at the top of the region individually and earn a berth to Nationals. I know she can do it.”

Several of the Sagehen freshmen also proved to be strong competitors over the weekend. Nika Strzelecka ’06, who finished twenty-first at multi-duals, finished sixth on Saturday with a time of 23:48. Amy Rapp ’06, who usually runs in or near the top ten in SCIAC competition, finished seventh with a time of 23:53. Both runners were named First Team All-SCIAC.

“Nika ran a spectacular race for sixth, and Amy was solid in seventh. I know Amy wasn’t pleased about her race, but that shows how competitive she is,” Reynolds said.

Rounding out the top five P-P finshers were Ann Prouty ’05, Heather Callahan ’04 and Susie Roley ’04, all three of whom made Second-Team All-SCIAC. At Saturday’s race, Prouty finished fourteenth with a time of 24:24, Callahan came in eighteenth with a time of 24:35, and Roley, who ran 24:45, finished in twentieth place. Because the top five finishers in the race all return next year, the team is in good shape for next season as well as this one.

Now the team is working towards Regionals, in which the top five finishers and two teams overall will qualify for Nationals.

“Our chances at Regionals look quite good. Even though we were only third in SCIAC, I think we can be among the top four in the Region,” said Reynolds.

“The top two teams at Regionals advance on to the National meet, and we have a small but feasible chance to be among those two if a lot of things go right for us on race day,” Reynolds said.