By
Francisco Merced
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Chaplin ahead of the field in young season
Last year, junior Tara Chaplin qualified for her ninth National Championship race in both cross country and track and field, and earned her third All-American award. She also qualified to run in the Olympic Trials.
Then again, that was all last year.
In 2000, Chaplin is sporting both a new focus and different set of goals. The results are showing for the 5-foot junior.
Chaplin has won both of the meets she has raced in this year - the Purdue Invitational and the Roy Griak Invitational last weekend in St. Paul, Minn.
"I'm coming back kind of slowly," Chaplin said. "I'm needing some down time."
After a rigorous schedule last season that included cross country, indoor and outdoor track and the Olympic Trials, Chaplin's request for a little rest seems understandable.
However, Arizona cross country head coach Dave Murray won't let fatigue lower his expectations for Arizona's No. 1 female runner.
"She'll be one of the better distance runners in the country this year on the collegiate level," Murray said.
Murray, who enters his 34th season in coaching, seemingly knows a thing or two when it comes to evaluating athletes.
"She's very capable of finishing in the top 10 nationally and probably one of the top three in the Pac-10," Murray said.
The high expectations are not new for Chaplin.
One of three children, Chaplin grew up with a father, Mark Chaplin, who coaches cross country at the high school she graduated from - U-32 High School in Montpelier, Vt.
Having her father as a cross country coach also allowed Chaplin to gain an advantage most other high school runners didn't have at the same time - a partner to run with everyday.
"I remember growing up watching my father coach his high school team," Chaplin said. "It's something I've been around my whole life."
The work ethic instilled in Chaplin by her father has seemingly rubbed off on her teammates.
"She's a great teammate and very determined," Erin Doherty said. "She's always been good, and I know that she's improved a lot."
Even with her father's guidance, Chaplin can't explain her love for the sport of cross country.
"It's just something I enjoy doing," Chaplin said.
This year, the junior will once again face tough competition and is determined to change what happened to her last year.
"I never ran as fast as I could last year," Chaplin said. "I was in better shape than my times showed."
Last year, the junior seemingly failed to convert her practice times into meets.
Helping Chaplin become her best will be the stiff competition that the Pacific 10 Conference poses for her. Stanford, the perennial No. 1 conference team for distance runners, stands in Arizona's way.
"It works to our advantage to race against the best people in the nation," Chaplin said.
This year, Murray has raised his expectations as the team has added a few new players to increase the overall team depth. With Chaplin at the helm - Murray said - "this team should be a lot stronger this year."
So far, Chaplin has sprinted into the 2000 season, cruising to two early victories.
This past Saturday, the junior won the Roy Griak Invitational with a time of 21 minutes, while UA finished fourth overall in a field of 29 teams.
In the first meet of the season, Chaplin and the UA women's cross country team traveled to West Lafayette, Ind. for the Purdue Invitational and finished first overall with Chaplin winning the individual crown.
This year also marks a first for women's cross country as the meet distance has been moved up to 6000 meters from the previous 5000m of years past.
Not that Chaplin is bothered by the 1000m increase.
"Some of the milers, they can tell the difference," Chaplin said. "But for me, I can't tell the difference."
Chaplin will need to continue her success as the season progresses. After all, a cross country season is more of a marathon than a sprint.
