UW women run away with NCAA cross-country title

THE University of Washington women's cross-country team won the NCAA championship this week. Emphasis is on the word "team." The time difference between the first UW runner to finish and the last is less than 49 seconds.

They ran together, stayed together and took the championship together. It's an amazing feat, and the university's first national title in the sport.

Freshman Christine Babcock was seventh overall in the field. Hard on her heels were freshman Kendra Schaaf, sophomore Mel Lawrence, junior Katie Follett, senior Amanda Miller, sophomore Lauren Saylor and senior Anita Campbell.

None finished lower than 51st, and no other team had all of its runners in the top 100. Washington coach Greg Metcalf had five of his runners qualify for All-American status.

Simply noting their achievements leaves most of us winded. These slender young champions in their wispy singlets and shorts quietly intimidate the heck out of other athletes.

Yes, the assessment most certainly includes the beefiest male variety. Not to put too fine a point on it, but cross-country athletes run. All the time. They love it. For just about every other flavor of athlete, running is a dreaded punishment or barely tolerated rigor of conditioning.

These cross-country champs train in all weather and compete in all conditions. To run, really, really fast, for 6,000 meters, means these athletes grind out endless multiples of that distance.

The races are not about short bursts of energy with a pause to regroup and do it again. Cross-country races are up and down and over terrain at full speed. They combine the best of intense individual effort with the strategy of a chess match to prevail as a team.

Athletic prowess and finesse combined to yield an NCAA championship. Solidly coached, superbly run.