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We left for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships with heavy hearts, but happy to be escaping the madness. We hopped on the bus after practice and traveled to Princess Anne, Maryland for the second time in two years. The women were on a mission. A mission to do better than we ever have before. We ended up taking fourth place, not our goal, but still getting an at-large bid to the National Championships.

Because we are a combined program, we travel with the boys. We all get along and have a good time together and it is always nice to have the guys around because they bring a different kind of energy on the trips. While the girls are usually singing songs and being silly, the guys keep us focused because their attitudes are often more serious. The bus ride was fun though, Kyle Dawson brought "Oh Brother, Where Art Though" which I didn't really want to watch because I have fallen asleep the past three times I tried to watch it, but I enjoyed it this time and stayed awake for the whole thing! We arrived in Princess Anne relatively early but headed to bed quickly to get a good night of sleep. We got up, had breakfast and walked around Target and did some shopping before we headed to the course for pre-meet. The weather was great. A little chilly and windy but not nearly as bad as it was in 2009 where we raced in mud up to our knees.

After we got back to our hotel, we relaxed a little. I mostly watched TV. I always watch so much television while we are at hotels. I should have been doing homework, but oh well. We had dinner at the hotel and then had our own individual team meetings. We called it a night after we each got a small chocolate bar. If there is chocolate in the hotel, you better believe I'm there. It's a curse. I headed to bed pretty early to get a full night of sleep in but I couldn't really sleep in. I was too anxious and excited.

The men and women headed over to the course around 10 am. The men's race went off at noon so we saw the start of the race and then started our warm up. 20 minutes later we were stretching in our tent waiting to hear the results of the men's race. After stretching to the point that I felt ready and doing my strides, the women's team headed to the starting line ready to race. The gun went off and I quickly got myself to the front. It was windy but everyone had to deal with it. I love racing in the front, feeling like I can control the race. I've always liked being in the front away from the clutter. I had Sheila Reid to my right, and Bogdana Mimic to my left. I was in a Villanova sandwich for majority of the race. As we passed the 2 mile mark, the lead cart and the official telling us where to go lead us in the wrong direction. After yelling for a few seconds saying that we were going to wrong way, we got over it and continued to focus on what we were there to do. Qualify for NCAA's. I definitely felt the extra half mile we ran when I passed the 5k mark. I was still with the lead pack up until 600 meters to go. Reid and Infeld, along with Banfich of Princeton, Mimic and Harrison of West Virginia took off and I was left in the dust. Although I couldn't stay with them until the finish I got a huge confidence boost from this weekend. I felt great and was able to hang with the defending NCAA Champ and with some of the best in the country.

I am very proud of my teammates for how they raced this weekend. We had a lot to deal with and I think we ran with a lot of heart. Next Monday is what this season is all about. It is the end of my collegiate cross country career and I am going to give everything I have to end it on a high note. We Are...

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• Cross Country
• Running
• Track & Field
• Sports
• NCAA

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• NCAA DI Cross Country Regionals

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• 2011 NCAA Cross-Country

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