Cross Country Season on Flotrack 2013Sep 26, 2013 by Mitch Kastoff
A giant leap for Providence, now all they need is a small step
A giant leap for Providence, now all they need is a small step
Every good Workout Wednesday has a story. Four years ago, then greenhorn Ryan Fenton took his new handicam and trailed the Providence Friars on a workout. He even hopped in for a few reps. When he was putting the finishing touches in the editing room, he was at an impasse. It was quite the workout, but he felt that there had to be some conclusion. Otherwise, it’d just be a nice, fluff recruiting piece.
“Can they win nationals?” Flowrestling founder Martin Floreani asked.
“Maybe,” said Fenton, unsure if (a) they really could be atop the podium and (b) whether that was too bold of a claim to make for someone who had only been at Flotrack for a little over a year.
“Well, there you go,” the problem-solving wrestler said. “Be bold, be brave.” And that was it. The last image you see in that WOW reads, “NCAA Champs?”
A lot has happened in the last five years later. It necessarily hasn’t been a general progression for the Friars, but one with a little anarchy. One year, they’re contenders. The next year, they don’t even make the meet. The year after that, they’re the national champions for about 20 minutes. It’s certainly been tumultuous for them.
NCAA Finishes for Providence
2012 - 2nd
2011 - N/A
2010 - 9th
2009 - 11th
2008 - 13th
Amidst the last few confusing years emerges some sort of order. Their training has been consistent. More so than other years the preseason roster looks like it could be the postseason roster.
Considering this group, minus one key runner in Shelby Greany, took second in the nation last year, that’s a terrifying thought.
A Quick Look at the '13 Providence Squad
“Well obviously, we're pretty optimistic,” coach Ray Treacy told Flotrack. “We have our top three back and I think all three of those ladies are quite capable of finishing in the top 20 at the NCAA meet. That's a good place to be after three runners.”
Arguably the best triad in the NCAA resides in Providence, RI. The first is Emily Sisson.
“With Emily, it's all about being consistent with her training. It seems like every cross country season, she's had hiccups in her training.” Treacy said.
As the ’12 season began, Sisson had been absent from the Friar’s lineup. The team, as any other squad would be, was hurt by her absence. Two week before the NCAAs, USTFCCCA’s National Polls had Providence ranked 20th. That is, until she came back.
“Her first race last fall was the Big East Championships. She had missed quite a bit of time in September and it was pretty much the same thing the year before with sickness and stuff.”
However, Providence wasn’t left up the Louisville pond without a paddle. Their saving grace for the majority of the season came from a new member of the squad who was about to take the NCAA by storm: Sarah Collins
Collins, a sophomore, had an almost unparalleled freshman fall, where she lead Providence at Lehigh’s Paul Short, Wisconsin’s adidas Invitational, the Big East Championships, and the NCAA Northeast Regional. It all culminated at NCAAs, where Collins once again lead the Friars, finished tenth overall, and was the second freshman behind Cal Poly’s Laura Hollander.
After her debut/breakout season, Collins seemed to disappeared from the national radar.
“I redshirted her indoor and she improved her track times outdoor,” Treacy said. “When she came here, she was a 16:45 5k'er and she ran 16:19.80 at Mt. SAC. I think she'll be a sub-16 minute person this year pretty easily.”
It was a busy summer for Collins. She ran the 5k at the European Junior Track Championships, where she took 7th in 16:33.54. If you thought that a long season would delay her buildup, don’t worry, that’s not the case.
“Right now, she's probably in better shape than she was this time last year, I would say. So we're optimistic that she's going to have just as good of a cross country season than she did last year.”
That leaves the third member of this triad, Laura Nagel.
“She ran 15:50 outdoors, which was a nice jump for her,” Treacy said. “She had a really good 10k out at Mt. SAC as well.”
Nagel after her 10k debut. Fun Fact: She also ran the Famouth Road Race this summer.
The senior from New Zealand has adapted to the longer distances quite well and is an integral part of the Providence squad. As the rankings guru Isaac Wood points out in The Wood Report, Nagel has better track PRs than Collins and “is a potential top-20 individual finisher at NCAAs.”
Behind these three interchangeable frontrunners lies a deep pool of talent. The question is who will step into those four and five slots to close the door on a potential national championship?
One candidate is Erin Murphy. The senior was Providence’s eighth girl last fall, but is coming off a very strong outdoor season where she dropped her 5k PR from 17:04.39 to 16:32.06. With this season already underway, we don’t need to make conjectures as to whether she’ll be able to rise to the occasion. Already this fall, Murphy was Providence’s fourth finisher at the UNH Dual Meet (18:41) and their fifth woman at Stony Brook (19:12.94)
Though she was 46-seconds back from the front three at the year’s first meet, she was roughly 82-seconds back at the second invitational. Her second race wasn't convincing enough for us to end our search for a definitive team line up, so we'll continue. After all, it is early in the season.
The Friar who rose to that fourth spot at Stony Brook was newcomer Catarina Rocha. The freshman from Peabody, MA helped boost Providence to the number two ranking in our NCAA Recruiting Poll and may be the most important addition to this squad. Rocha was a big-time performer on the national stage and is off to “a great start,” according to Assistant Coach Kevin Myles.
The choices for who gets to make the potential trip to Terre Haute, Ind. doesn’t end there. Factor in Jillian Fanning and Keelin Hollowood, two upstate New Yorkers with four and five years of NXN experience. Hollowood made her collegiate debut at at the UNH Dual Meet (she was Providence’s fifth in 18:41) while Fanning has yet to suit up and will not traveling with the team this weekend.
There’s also star recruit Ashley Erba (16:18.21 for 5k as a junior), who had toe surgery back in April. “We'll wait to see how the first month of training progresses and decide what we're going to do with her then,” Treacy said. The Friars may not have Erba, who is a strong candidate to fit into that four / five slot, but Providence is still favored. That's because the team’s depth is and always seems to be one of Providence’s main strengths.
“When you have a group like ours, with a lot of depth, you want to see more in the group when they become sophomores.” Those sophomores, that we haven’t even mentioned yet, include Molly Keating, Lauren Mullins, Katie Powell, and Katie Sischo. All four will be making the trip up north to Boston this weekend. Perhaps a key athlete will emerge from this hodgepodge pack of strong, potential runners.
In what’s been dubbed the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown, three ranked teams will try to challenge the pre-season favorites from small town Providence. Those teams are #3 Oregon, #9 Cornell, and #24 Boston College.
As of right now, the headline on cross country page on friars.com reads “Women’s Cross Country Takes On Reigning National Champions.” We approve of both the headline and acknowledgment of the circumstances.
For the last two weeks, Providence has sat atop the USTFCCCA National Coaches’ Poll. They’ve sat in the second slot in The Wood Report for two consecutive weeks as well. While the Friars aren’t gunning for Duke (#2 and #1 in the two polls, respectively), they’ll have their hands full at nearby Boston College.
Fenton, who is already in Boston, thinks that Providence will come away with the team title and Sisson will take the individual win. I don't disagree.
Though we’ll get a taste of things to most-likely come in November, the Friars will try and sort things out for later this season.
“But you can't really start thinking about nationals until you get to the end of October,” Treacy said when asked about the team's goals for Terre Haute. “The goal is to be healthy right through the season and worry about ourselves. Hopefully, the seven we expect to be on the line in November will be there.”
Treacy ended our conversation by saying, “If we're in that position and we have the seven in November, then we'll have a chance.”
Chances look pretty good. Providence made a huge leap last year at NCAAs. Now they just need to put the final pieces together and take a small step forward.
“Can they win nationals?” Flowrestling founder Martin Floreani asked.
“Maybe,” said Fenton, unsure if (a) they really could be atop the podium and (b) whether that was too bold of a claim to make for someone who had only been at Flotrack for a little over a year.
“Well, there you go,” the problem-solving wrestler said. “Be bold, be brave.” And that was it. The last image you see in that WOW reads, “NCAA Champs?”
A lot has happened in the last five years later. It necessarily hasn’t been a general progression for the Friars, but one with a little anarchy. One year, they’re contenders. The next year, they don’t even make the meet. The year after that, they’re the national champions for about 20 minutes. It’s certainly been tumultuous for them.
NCAA Finishes for Providence
2012 - 2nd
2011 - N/A
2010 - 9th
2009 - 11th
2008 - 13th
Amidst the last few confusing years emerges some sort of order. Their training has been consistent. More so than other years the preseason roster looks like it could be the postseason roster.
Considering this group, minus one key runner in Shelby Greany, took second in the nation last year, that’s a terrifying thought.
A Quick Look at the '13 Providence Squad
|
Name |
1500m |
3k |
5k |
Finish at NCAAs |
|
Emily Sisson |
4:38.49i (mile) |
9:06.04i |
15:39.80 |
15th |
|
Sarah Collins |
4:42.88 |
9:26.26 |
16:19.80 |
10th |
|
Laura Nagel |
4:23.23 |
9:24.30 |
15:50.36 |
35th |
|
Catarina Rocha |
4:49.14 (mile) |
10:26.20 (2-mile) |
17:27.40 (XC) |
N/A |
| Grace Thek |
4:36.69 |
9:51.37 |
16:54.27 |
167th |
|
Erin Murphy |
4:53.14 |
9:50.41 |
16:32.06 |
N/A |
|
Molly Keating |
4:54.57 |
9:54.90 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Jillian Fanning |
4:35.08 |
9:43.20 |
17:04.80 (XC) |
N/A |
|
Keelin Hollowood |
4:33.02 |
9:52.25 |
17:38.30 (XC) |
N/A |
“Well obviously, we're pretty optimistic,” coach Ray Treacy told Flotrack. “We have our top three back and I think all three of those ladies are quite capable of finishing in the top 20 at the NCAA meet. That's a good place to be after three runners.”
Arguably the best triad in the NCAA resides in Providence, RI. The first is Emily Sisson.
“With Emily, it's all about being consistent with her training. It seems like every cross country season, she's had hiccups in her training.” Treacy said.
As the ’12 season began, Sisson had been absent from the Friar’s lineup. The team, as any other squad would be, was hurt by her absence. Two week before the NCAAs, USTFCCCA’s National Polls had Providence ranked 20th. That is, until she came back.
“Her first race last fall was the Big East Championships. She had missed quite a bit of time in September and it was pretty much the same thing the year before with sickness and stuff.”
However, Providence wasn’t left up the Louisville pond without a paddle. Their saving grace for the majority of the season came from a new member of the squad who was about to take the NCAA by storm: Sarah Collins
Collins, a sophomore, had an almost unparalleled freshman fall, where she lead Providence at Lehigh’s Paul Short, Wisconsin’s adidas Invitational, the Big East Championships, and the NCAA Northeast Regional. It all culminated at NCAAs, where Collins once again lead the Friars, finished tenth overall, and was the second freshman behind Cal Poly’s Laura Hollander.
After her debut/breakout season, Collins seemed to disappeared from the national radar.
“I redshirted her indoor and she improved her track times outdoor,” Treacy said. “When she came here, she was a 16:45 5k'er and she ran 16:19.80 at Mt. SAC. I think she'll be a sub-16 minute person this year pretty easily.”
It was a busy summer for Collins. She ran the 5k at the European Junior Track Championships, where she took 7th in 16:33.54. If you thought that a long season would delay her buildup, don’t worry, that’s not the case.
“Right now, she's probably in better shape than she was this time last year, I would say. So we're optimistic that she's going to have just as good of a cross country season than she did last year.”
That leaves the third member of this triad, Laura Nagel.
“She ran 15:50 outdoors, which was a nice jump for her,” Treacy said. “She had a really good 10k out at Mt. SAC as well.”
Nagel after her 10k debut. Fun Fact: She also ran the Famouth Road Race this summer.
The senior from New Zealand has adapted to the longer distances quite well and is an integral part of the Providence squad. As the rankings guru Isaac Wood points out in The Wood Report, Nagel has better track PRs than Collins and “is a potential top-20 individual finisher at NCAAs.”
Behind these three interchangeable frontrunners lies a deep pool of talent. The question is who will step into those four and five slots to close the door on a potential national championship?
One candidate is Erin Murphy. The senior was Providence’s eighth girl last fall, but is coming off a very strong outdoor season where she dropped her 5k PR from 17:04.39 to 16:32.06. With this season already underway, we don’t need to make conjectures as to whether she’ll be able to rise to the occasion. Already this fall, Murphy was Providence’s fourth finisher at the UNH Dual Meet (18:41) and their fifth woman at Stony Brook (19:12.94)
Though she was 46-seconds back from the front three at the year’s first meet, she was roughly 82-seconds back at the second invitational. Her second race wasn't convincing enough for us to end our search for a definitive team line up, so we'll continue. After all, it is early in the season.
The Friar who rose to that fourth spot at Stony Brook was newcomer Catarina Rocha. The freshman from Peabody, MA helped boost Providence to the number two ranking in our NCAA Recruiting Poll and may be the most important addition to this squad. Rocha was a big-time performer on the national stage and is off to “a great start,” according to Assistant Coach Kevin Myles.
The choices for who gets to make the potential trip to Terre Haute, Ind. doesn’t end there. Factor in Jillian Fanning and Keelin Hollowood, two upstate New Yorkers with four and five years of NXN experience. Hollowood made her collegiate debut at at the UNH Dual Meet (she was Providence’s fifth in 18:41) while Fanning has yet to suit up and will not traveling with the team this weekend.
There’s also star recruit Ashley Erba (16:18.21 for 5k as a junior), who had toe surgery back in April. “We'll wait to see how the first month of training progresses and decide what we're going to do with her then,” Treacy said. The Friars may not have Erba, who is a strong candidate to fit into that four / five slot, but Providence is still favored. That's because the team’s depth is and always seems to be one of Providence’s main strengths.
“When you have a group like ours, with a lot of depth, you want to see more in the group when they become sophomores.” Those sophomores, that we haven’t even mentioned yet, include Molly Keating, Lauren Mullins, Katie Powell, and Katie Sischo. All four will be making the trip up north to Boston this weekend. Perhaps a key athlete will emerge from this hodgepodge pack of strong, potential runners.
In what’s been dubbed the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown, three ranked teams will try to challenge the pre-season favorites from small town Providence. Those teams are #3 Oregon, #9 Cornell, and #24 Boston College.
As of right now, the headline on cross country page on friars.com reads “Women’s Cross Country Takes On Reigning National Champions.” We approve of both the headline and acknowledgment of the circumstances.
For the last two weeks, Providence has sat atop the USTFCCCA National Coaches’ Poll. They’ve sat in the second slot in The Wood Report for two consecutive weeks as well. While the Friars aren’t gunning for Duke (#2 and #1 in the two polls, respectively), they’ll have their hands full at nearby Boston College.
Fenton, who is already in Boston, thinks that Providence will come away with the team title and Sisson will take the individual win. I don't disagree.
Though we’ll get a taste of things to most-likely come in November, the Friars will try and sort things out for later this season.
“But you can't really start thinking about nationals until you get to the end of October,” Treacy said when asked about the team's goals for Terre Haute. “The goal is to be healthy right through the season and worry about ourselves. Hopefully, the seven we expect to be on the line in November will be there.”
Treacy ended our conversation by saying, “If we're in that position and we have the seven in November, then we'll have a chance.”
Chances look pretty good. Providence made a huge leap last year at NCAAs. Now they just need to put the final pieces together and take a small step forward.