Cross Country Rebuilds During Fall, Develops Program Depth

The 2007-2008 season was a time of rebuilding for the Columbia cross country squads. With 18 freshmen and two new assistant coaches, the Lions worked to develop team depth for upcoming years.

As a group, the women's squad managed to outdo the men's team, but the depth of the men's team may prove the key to success in the coming years. The Light Blue managed to hold on to its second-place finish at Heptagonal Championships on the women's side, but the men fell to fourth place behind Princeton, Cornell, and Penn. Later on, at NCAA Northeast Regionals, the men's team came in 10th while the women nabbed sixth place.

The women's team saw strong individual performances from outgoing seniors Carmen Ballard, Stephanie Lenihan, and Shelby Leland. Ballard, after earning her second first-team all-Ivy finish in her college career, went on to NCAA Northeast Regionals and finally to the NCAA Championships, where she claimed all-American honors and a 23rd-place finish. The loss of these three seniors will undoubtedly hurt the team, but junior Megan Lessard and freshmen Jackie Drouin and Abbie Dubin-Rhodin showed promise. Drouin earned second-team all-Ivy honors after Heptagonal Championships.

Seniors Liam Boylan-Pett, Zach Richard, and Dan Whitt led the men's team, and their absence will leave a void to be filled by junior Paul Morris, sophomores James Bogner and Jeff Randall, and freshman Tom Poland. Bogner, who placed 12th at Ivy League Championships, was the only male Columbia student to earn league honors, doing so as a second-team all-Ivy runner. Morris was the second Lion to finish for the men's team, coming in 19th, followed by Randall in 23rd place.

The upcoming season will be a testing ground for the Lions, who will need to prove that they can not only rise above the loss of graduating seniors but also harvest their new runners for stronger Ivy League finishes.