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The press conference the day before the NCAA Cross Country Championships is largely for the convenience of reporters from daily newspapers who are writing meet previews for Monday papers, and it seldom, if ever, reveals any new news about the top individuals or teams. The athletes and coaches are usually deliberately vague about any plans or expectations beyond the obvious. "I'd like to have my top athletes scoring as few points as possible," said Mark Wetmore about Colorado's men. Mick Byrne of Iona, asked what he would have to do to finally bring a men's team title to New York from Indiana State University's Terre Haute course, looked over at Wetmore and Oregon's Vin Lananna and said, "Beat these guys."
Florida State's first-year women's coach Karen Harvey, who arrived in Tallahassee from the University of Illinois, was one breath of fresh air in the room. Asked about what was left for a coach to do before the race, she exposed her own stress level. "I probably won't sleep tonight," she admitted. "I'll talk to each runner individually this afternoon about goals, and the team together. I'll try to keep them calm and focused on goals. But it's out of [the coaches'] hands now."
Harvey also took a question about the development of women's running in the NCAA head on. "When I was at Michigan," Harvey said, "there was a lot of talent in the front, much of it developed by Coach [Peter] Tegen [who was sitting just down the table from Harvey]. Now, that talent is going deeper and deeper in the race."
Tegen, who had previously been relatively quiet, then noted that the improved depth has brought problems as well. "There have always been doubts about the qualifying procedure: did we get them all, did we get the best. As parity grows between the teams, questions about the qualifying procedure are going to come up. The system is good, and it works, but that may not always be true."
The men expected to contend for the individual title were also more candid than usual. It started with Josh McDougal's confession that his 2006 performance (27th) was "really disappointing." "My first year, I ran like a freshman," he recalled, about the first time he arrived in Terre Haute off an undefeated season. "Sophomore year, I had things more dialed in. But last year, I just fell apart. [But] I think I can say that this year I'm in the best shape of my life."
Lopez Lomong, who raced McDougal when both were in high school in New York, also had a burst of candor, spilling most of his race plan, unless he was bluffing. "I don't want to hammer at the start," he said. "I want to stay back and just chill for a while." Lomong, McDougal, and Shadrack Songok all agreed that the real racing, even with faster, drier course conditions than 2006's mud-fest, would begin between after the 7k mark of the 10k men's course. "People start to run out of patience around there," explained McDougal. "That's where things thin down to two or three guys who are really contesting the title. Before that, it's a much larger pack."
It's unlikely that anyone's race plans will change based on the "secrets" spilled in the press conference, however. "It's hard to correct any weaknesses at this point," Songok observed. "We can't go out and do another speed workout now. There's not much you can do but try to stay healthy."
Posted by Parker Morse at 8:37 p.m. | Tags: 2007 NCAA Cross Country
Fla. commented, on November 18, 2007 at 10:42 p.m.:
One small note: Karen Harvey is at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Gainesville is home to the University of Florida, coached by Jeff Pigg.
Interesting observations about the women's press conference. Thanks, Alison.
Alison commented, on November 19, 2007 at 7:07 a.m.:
For some reason, I started reading this article again this a.m. and noticed right away that he had placed Florida State in Gainesville. I guess after finally getting a decent night's sleep for the first time in days my brain is working a little better. I logged in to see if anyone had commented on this, and there it was! It's always good to know that we have at least one reader! Thanks.
pjm commented, on November 19, 2007 at 7:48 p.m.:
Thanks for the catch on my Gainesville/Tallahassee mix-up. As Alison noted, we arrived in Terre Haute with a sleep deficit, and that's my only excuse; I should know better.
chad austin commented, on November 19, 2007 at 9:03 p.m.:
Hey Alison, I know what you mean about being shy and afraid to get in there and ask the questions. I'm the same way. However, keep in mind that you're probably one of the most informed people there, so you know what the hell you're talking about. Might as well not hold back - especially if you're driving all over the country for this sport we love. Fire away and get the ball rolling - maybe then others will jump in.
Alison commented, on November 18, 2007 at 9:30 p.m.:
I just want to add to this that Susan Kuijken, Sally Kipyego, Arianna Lambie, and Jenny Barringer were also at this press conference, but their time at the podium was very brief due to the lack of questions asked. (Parker and I each asked a question, but other than their opening remarks, I think that was it.)
It led another attendee and me to wonder if no one in the room cared about the women's race, if most of the attendees were hoping someone else would ask the questions, or if they just thought that no matter what they asked, they wouldn't get much of an answer. I could have asked more questions, but I'm shy and usually keep my mouth shut at such things. I prefer to tell other people the questions they should be asking!
The men's press conference had a moderator who got things going, whereas the planned women's moderator was unable to make it. This was certainly one of the reasons for the women's silence.
I am writing this mainly because there is a glaring lack of mention of any of the women's individual contenders in this article, but it is not necessarily Parker's fault.
Next time I guess we should come armed with questions, otherwise we're wasting the women's time by having them there. (And this is certainly not the first year this has been the case, but this year was a little worse than others.)