Swarthmore Strides Thru 2008
The Garnet female harriers began the year with a pre-season national ranking of 27th in all Division III according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's Division III Cross Country National Poll. The team hit the trails with a determination and the results shone through at the weekly meets.
Junior Nyika Corbett (Myrtle Point, Ore. / Myrtle Point) and first-year Melissa Frick (Swarthmore, Pa. / Strath Haven) were consistently the number one and two runners for Swarthmore. For the third year in a row, Corbett was the top Garnet finisher at the Mideast Regional Championships, receiving her third All-Region honors as the team earned seventh place.
In their first race of the season, the Garnet women placed second overall, the team was led by Corbett, who earned a third place finish. On October 18, Swarthmore won the 27th-annual Seven Sisters Championship (the second title in program history) and had three runners finish in the top-ten: Corbett (2nd), Frick (3rd) and senior Bess Ritter (Quaker Hill, Ct. / Waterford) was 7th. The team finished up the regular season with a fourth-place finish at the Centennial Conference Championships with five runners earning career-best finishes.
The team excelled in the classroom as well. Senior Emma Stanley (Fogelsville, Pa. / Parkside) was selected as a Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Star by Philly-SIDA and eight Garnet women earned a place on the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll.
The team will train in the off season in hopes to reach their goal of making Nationals in 2009 while vying for the Centennial Championship.