Women's cross country finished fifth in the country at the NCAA Division III Championships in Colfax, Wisconsin. The Mules had their best finish ever at an NCAA meet.

Deb Aitken, in her 20th year at Colby, was named New England Region Coach of the Year and NESCAC Coach of the Year. Aitken has taken five teams to the NCAA meet during her time with the Mules.

Colby made it to the NCAA meet after placing third at the NCAA Division III New England Regional meet at Cumberland Center in Maine. The Mules beat then fifth-ranked Amherst at the meet. The team also placed fourth at the NESCAC Championships hosted by Colby.

Senior Karina Johnson was the top runner for Colby in the second half of the season. Johnson earned NESCAC second team honors for taking 11th at the league meet. She was Colby's top finisher in 45th place at the NCAA meet.

First-year runners Anna King and Elizabeth Petit both had fine seasons. King was 16th at the New England meet and 49th at the NCAA race.

Junior Jess Minty was the top runner for the first part of the season. Sophomore Karen Prisby also had fine finishes for the Mules.

Johnson, Torrey Kulow and Minty all earned NESCAC Fall All-Academic honors.

The graduation of two of the top seven runners from last year's squad will present many challenges for the 2004 season. The team will have to reestablish itself in the New England Division III rankings. Despite these losses, the team expects to place itself once again amongst the top 10 teams in New England.

Senior co-captain Karina Johnson '05 (Tolland, Conn.) is among the three of the top five runners returning. Johnson consistently was the top runner for the Mules last year while earning all-state honors. Junior Jess Minty '06 (Concord, Mass.) displayed great improvement from her 2002 season, earned all-state honors, and was the team's number two runner. Junior Hillary Easter '06 (Jay, Maine) was a top five runner and will be looked to for strong finishes in 2004. Returnees looking for a top seven position include Kiersten Davis '07 (Dedham, Mass.), Allison Cogbill '07 (LaCrosse, Wis.), Karen Prisby '07 (Agawam, Mass.), Brianna Tufts '07 (Exeter, N.H.), and Betsy Littlefield '07 (Wellesley, Mass.). Colby also will look for contributions from a group of first-year runners that includes Elizabeth Petit '08 (Grosse Pointe, Mich.). With returning and new talent, the opportunity for a great season is in the hands of those who prepare themselves for the challenges ahead. The journey will be an exciting one.

Colby's distance training program is divided into four or five phases, with each phase focused on the improvement of a different energy system. Workouts are designed to improve cellular adaptation and running economy, increase maximum oxygen capacity, and elevate lactate threshold. The emphasis is on individual development. Every effort is made to ensure that each individual is challenged without over- or under-training.

Thanks to a gift from Judge and Mrs. Levin Campbell and their daughter Eleanor '81, Colby has developed five miles of running trails over the 714-acre Mayflower Hill campus. The wood-chipped and grass-covered trails have been the site of state, NESCAC, and ECAC championship races.

The greater Waterville area is a runner's haven. In addition to the Campbell Trails, a variety of dirt roads within the Belgrade Lakes area, local golf courses, and area trails provide an array of soft surfaces and varying terrain on which to train and endless miles of breathtaking scenery that is hard for the running enthusiast to resist.

» About the Cross Country Trails