Kevin Fischer
Jan 11, 20238 min
Written by Kevin Fischer, additional commentary and edits by John Cusick & Garrett Zatlin
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The NYU cross country team roster consisted of 14 women this fall.
Eight of those runners were true freshmen.
And it was with these rookies that we began to see a transformation in the Violets' distance program. The ladies of NYU went from 8th in the Niagara region during the 2021 cross country season to 26th place at the cross country national meet in 2022.
NYU's class headliner is Vivian Kane (Newton North HS) who rose through the D3 ranks this past fall, most notably claiming a monumental (and admittedly stunning) win at the Connecticut College Invitational.
In high school, Kane ran 5:03 (1600) and 11:17 (3200), as well as 18:52 (5k XC). Those are solid marks and they suggested that she would (eventually) be competitive at the D3 level. But the true freshman has capitalized on her fitness in ways that we didn't expect and she made a seamless transition to collegiate racing, maybe the best that we've seen in a while.
Her early success is promising as the Violets appear to have a true low-stick moving forward, which is enormous from a team-building perspective. Filling the depth pieces is more of the priority now. And while they didn't know it at the time, that depth appears to already be on campus.
Daniela Sekhar (Seattle Prepatory HS), Stella Gladden (High Tech HS), Janie Cooper (Westminster HS) and Aminata Johnson (West Potomac HS) have all run 5:15 or faster for 1600 meters. That is highly impressive and it would be a surprise that, by their junior or senior seasons, at least one of these women doesn't evolve into a true low-stick.
Sekhar has shown the best long distance abilities of those four women at the high school level, running 11:21 (3200) and 18:25 (5k XC). She also made NYU's top-seven this year and competed at the NCAA XC Championships, finishing in 183rd place.
Cooper and Gladden also competed at the NCAA XC Championships this past fall in their first collegiate season.
Cooper, who holds personal bests of 2:27 (800), 5:12 (1600), 11:31 (3200) and 19:22 (5k XC), placed 11th at the Niagara regional meet and then 175th at the national meet. Gladden has run 2:29 (800), 5:15 (1600), 11:40 (3200) and most impressively, 18:46 (5k XC). She was 277th at the NCAA XC Championships.
Sure, Sekhar, Cooper and Gladden didn't have the greatest national meet showings, but their placements weren't necessarily a concern for us. Those are three true freshmen not named Vivian Kane who got experience on the national stage. Over the long-term, that should prove to be incredibly valuable.
Johnson will be a force to be reckoned with over the middle distances as she holds marks of 2:16 (800) and 5:15 (1600). A big jump in her first year on the oval could even put her in the national conversation.
And sure, we may be getting ahead of ourselves here, but Johnson's potential in the middle distance events will make a huge difference for the Violets in future years. It also doesn't hurt that she offers some promising event diversity to a team that seems to a long distance focus.
Also joining NYU this past fall were Ania Keenan (Miramonte HS), Emily Castles (Davis HS) and Ariya Mathrawala (Eastlake HS). While that trio may not be of the same caliber of the other five rookies in this class, they have plenty of potential in their own right.
Castles has run 5:28 (1600), 11:50 (3200) and 19:32 (5k XC). She hasn't hit those times since 2019, but you can't ignore the potential for her to become a key member of this team in a couple of years. In our eyes, she is simply due for a big jump in her fitness.
Keenan is slightly stronger over longer distances, running 19:00 (5k XC) and 11:46 (3200). She also has marks of 2:29 (800) and 5:33 (1600). We're currently tabbing her as a long distance specialist, but with some speed development, we could see her evolve into a well-rounded athlete.
Mathrawala's strong suit is the 800 meters as she ran 2:23 in high school. She also ran 5:26 (1600), 12:33 (3200) and 19:50 (5k XC). It's probably safe to say that she will stay at the 800 meters for the time being, but we could see her dabble in some mile races. Some newfound strength for Mathrawala could turn her into a key DMR piece during the indoor season.
By the time she's a senior, Mathrawala could be a sneaky-good talent.
To summarize, this class consists of a budding superstar in Vivian Kane, three immediate cross country contributors, a probable 800 meter standout and three other recruits who have shown legitimate potential.
As soon as they got on campus, these NYU freshmen began making program history as the Violets qualified for their first NCAA XC Championships since 2013. And that's despite Kane not running at their regional meet.
This is only the beginning for a team that seems destined to make significant improvements, over the next few years.
The Tufts women failing to qualify for a national meet isn't something that we've seen very often, historically speaking. But when you take a closer look at the current structure of their roster, it's not necessarily shocking, either.
None of the Jumbo's top-three runners from their 2021 national meet lineup (which finished 8th overall that year) competed past this fall. Danielle Page transferred to Michigan, Anna Slager graduated and Meghan Davis, despite being on this year's roster, did not race.
Even during that 2021 cross country season, when mentioned in conversations as dark horse podium contenders, there were some question marks regarding Tufts' depth. And unless you're a very deep team, replacing runners of the caliber that they lost in 2022 is challenging.
That's where this class of 16 freshmen comes in.
No, that's not a typo.
There are 16 new faces on Tufts campus for the 2022-23 academic calendar.
In addition to the sheer numbers, there is some undeniable star power that will help this rebuilding program prepare for a future that seems extremely promising. Five members of this freshman class made the top-seven for Tufts's cross country lineup this past fall and competed at the East Regional XC Championships as well.
We'll start with Elizabeth Donahue (Reading HS) who has run 5:08 (1600), 10:59 (3200) and 19:15 (5k XC). She has already made an impact at Tufts as she was the second finisher for the Jumbos at their regional meet, finishing 25th.
Right behind her at that regional meet was Alexandra Dean (Middletown HS) in 28th place. In our eyes, Dean may be even better on the track than she is on the grass given that she has run times of 2:21 (800), 5:07 (1600), 11:27 (3200) and 18:54 (5k XC).
The range of these two women alone make them highly valuable pickups for a Tufts team that was/is in dire need of front-runners. Luckily, that duo has already shown that they can be top scorers for the Jumbos on the grass and they'll have an opportunity to show that yet again on the oval.
We then move to Samantha Fellman (New Trier HS) who holds highly respectable times of 5:14 (1600) and 11:08 (3200). She's also run 18:10 for three miles on the grass, making her someone to watch out for in the longer distances. Her potential is already translating to the collegiate level after a 45th place regional meet finish.
Grace Ogden (Concord-Carlisle HS), who placed 47th on the regional stage, is somebody who we admittedly had some questions about going into this past fall.
The last time that Ogden ran cross country in high school was before COVID and her personal best in the 5k is listed as 22:00. And despite the 5:22 mile time that she put on her resume in the spring of her senior year, it wasn't clear how much better she would be on the grass.
Well, it's fair to say that she cleared up any lingering doubts. Ogden has transitioned to the college scene relatively well and should only get better moving forward. It's clear that she has a ton of untapped potential.
Jaclyn Turner (Colleyville Heritage HS) had a tough day at her regional meet and fell to 99th. However, she did place 3rd at the NESCAC XC Championships which was a quietly great mark for the true freshman.
We should also note that Turner ran 5:16 for 1600 meters in the spring of her senior year and has a cross country 5k personal best of 18:44. Those are two sneaky-strong performances that could make Turner a legitimately valuable rookie for some of the top teams in our D2 rankings.
Yes, her 3200 meter personal best of 11:59 might have suggested that she would be more middle distance oriented, but it probably came down to her just not racing that distance very often.
Being able to run 5:16 (1600) and 18:44 (5k XC) suggests that Turner is/will be a solid depth piece for the Jumbos. She should have an impact on this team both on the grass and oval in a relatively short amount time.
There are also several other notable names who the Jumbos brought in...
Julianne Teitler (Darien HS) has run 2:29 (800), 5:18 (1600), 11:12 (3200) and 19:26 (5k XC). Out of the rest of these recruits, Teitler is the most well-rounded distance talent. Her 1600 meter and 3200 meter times make her a potential threat in the mile/3k on the indoor oval as well as in the 1500 meters during the spring months.
Julia Dolce (William Penn Charter HS) has run 2:18 (800), 5:15 (1600) and 19:57 (5k XC). She didn't log a 3200 meter time in her high school career, but there's a reason for that. Dolce is a middle distance ace and will likely stay that way at Tufts. She'll bring some much needed variance on the oval and could be a good depth piece on the grass in future years.
Eleanor Tyne (Orono HS) has run 2:24 (800) and 5:23 (1600). With no other times to work with, Tyne is almost certainly another middle distance piece for Tufts. Tyne has shown the potential to be an above-average talent in both of her aforementioned events and she adds even more speed to a strength-based distance program.
Gwyneth Stach (Strath Haven HS) has run 5:38 (1600), 11:24 (3200) and 19:54 (5k XC) while Jessica Reilly (Northern Highlands HS) has run 5:05 (1500), 11:35 (3200) and 18:45 (5k XC).
Both of those women will have the opportunity to be critical contributors to Tufts' cross country team in a couple of seasons. They don't have blistering times, but their 3200 meter and 5k marks indicate that they'll be better as they get older and as the racing distances get longer.
It may not be immediate, but the depth of the Jumbos has also gotten significantly better.
Kira Rosen (St. Stephens Episcopal HS), Vivan Lau (Monte Vista HS), Eliana Montgomery (Mountain View HS), Emilia Arabbo (Lincoln-Sudbury HS), Taylor Escudero (Bridgewater-Rayham HS) and Paige Zhang (Tower Hill HS) are the last six rookies for Tufts this year.
Rosen has run 2:28 (800), 5:26 (1600), 12:07 (3200) and 19:34 (5k XC). She should be able to find a spot in the varsity lineup before she graduates and will serve as a nice depth piece.
The same can be said for Lau who has run 2:31 (800), 5:28 (1600), 11:44 (3200) and 20:38 (5k XC). She has shown flashes of being a strong runner at 3200 meters, but a developmental year or two is likely necessary.
Montgomery has run 5:31 (1600), 12:03 (3200) and 19:26 (5k XC) while Arabbo has run 2:31 (800), 5:31 (1600), 12:03 (3200) and 19:26 (5k XC). Both women have run comparable times and, with a few years of development, could be valuable insurance pieces in Tufts' top-seven on the grass.
Escudero has run 5:49 (1600) and 21:17 (5k XC) while Zhang has run 6:10 (1600), 13:12 (3200) and 21:47 (5k XC). Both should be purely developmental pieces who could ride the momentum of training alongside an upper-tier group
The class size of these Tufts freshmen provides more of a chance that someone from this group will break out and make a significant impact.
And more importantly, the Jumbos directly addressed the depth issues that have prevented them from seeing a podium even in their best years. Quality is more important than quantity, but you need enough quantity to fill a competitive scoring seven.
In the next few years, we will likely see this Tufts team return to the levels that they've been at before, but with a different identity that is less reliant on just a couple of All-American talents.