By
Ryan Finley
Arizona Summer Wildcat
Cross country looking to finish stronger
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand the intricacies of cross-country running. But it helps to have one.
Senior runner Mike Cramer said the smart runners - the ones who can effectively budget both time and energy - normally win events. Thankfully for UA head coach Dave Murray, Cramer and fellow senior Tom Prindiville are spending their summers as interns, with Cramer working for a rocket manufacturer in Utah.
"It's a matter of running when it's important," Cramer said of cross-country running. "It's knowing when to run. It's knowing when not to run. It's not like any other sport."
Given the talent returning to the Wildcat program, the 2001 UA cross country teams have the capacity to return to the top of the NCAA. If Cramer has his way, the team will be a whole lot smarter in the new season, too. Cramer attributes a lack of smarts to Arizona's poor performance at the NCAA Championships last year in Ames, Iowa.
Slowed by cold weather, both the UA men's and women's teams seemed to peak too early in the race, eventually running out of steam just as most of the Wildcats' competition was working hardest. There was no UA male runner who finished higher than No. 70, while Tara Chaplin paced the women with a 45th-place performance.
"It was a disappointing finish the past couple of seasons," Chaplin said. "Our team has a lot of potential this year like always, but we always seem to struggle. It wears you down. It's hard to race 100 percent week after week."
Cramer said jumpy runners hurt the Wildcats' chances.
"We were all way too gung-ho early on," Cramer said. "We didn't focus on the importance of running well at the end. You need to pace yourself."
During the regular season, Cramer and the Wildcat men will pace themselves by running with Chaplin, one of the most accomplished runners in UA history.
Last season, the 5-foot Chaplin won three races - the Roy Griak Invitational, the Purdue Invitational and the Pacific 10 Conference Championships - and was the highest-finishing Wildcat in each event she ran in.
"We try not to run with Tara," Cramer said, laughing. "Tara's able to hang with the guys most of time, even with the gender gap in cross country. She runs more miles than any of the guys do."
Chaplin's response seems well-rehearsed.
"They don't like to lose to girls," she said.
On the women's side, the Wildcats lost only one senior - Katrin Engelen - after the 2000 season and should return an experienced team. Erin Doherty, a Tucson native, will join Chaplin as one of the team's senior leaders.
"We need to be working together instead of competing," she said.
On the men's side, Cramer said he expects Prindiville to replace David Lopez - the Wildcats' lone senior in 2000 - as the team's captain.
"He's already stepped up as a senior, role-wise," Cramer said. "He's committed to his running."
