Last Friday the men's and women's cross country teams took to the hills of Van Cortland Part in New York City for the Heptagonal Cross country Championship, an end-of-season Ivy League battle used as a final comparison of Ivy talent in a season that allows few opportunities for intraleague measurement. And in end the Harvard men's and women's teams just didn't measure up.

The women harriers finished a disappointing fifth out of nine teams, while the men registered dead last. In light of last year's finishes, when the women finished second only to repeat champion Dartmouth and the men finished a relatively respectable sixth, this year's showing would appear to discourage even the most hearty of the long distance breed.

The numbers posted in the results, placing the men almost 200 points out of first place and the women 78 points behind Dartmouth's runaway victory, do not tell the whole story. That's not to say the Crimson should have swept the races, but the results documented on paper are not indicative of the individual performances and team potential.

The Crimson women's team declared their expectations and self-confidence by taking the race out hard at the start.

"It was a gutsy move to lead the race so hard," Margaret Schotte said. "It was risky, but we needed to take that risk to have a fast, good race."

The women's plan was to start hard because once the pack reaches the hills of the Van Courtland course, the narrow path and the grueling incline dictate that it doesn't pay to save anything. The results of the Crimson effort were faster times for the entire field of runners.

Defending Dartmouth champion Maribel Sanchez bested her last year time by 33 seconds finishing in an impressive 17:28 for the 3.1 mile course. Schotte (18:05.7), who was Harvard's top finisher in 8th place, cut her time by 57 seconds over last year's race and in the process earned second team All Ivy honors.

But the Harvard strategy also cost the Crimson. The top four finishers from the Crimson placed in the top 25, but a big gap between the fourth and fifth finishers made the difference between a possible second place team finish and landing in the middle of the pack.

Jenny Martin (18:19, 12th), Margaret Angell (18:22, 14th) and Heather Stroud (18:44, 25th) finished second, third and fourth for Harvard, respectively.

Most importantly, Schotte stressed the importance of looking past the paper results.

"By looking at the [results from] the rest of the season, one wouldn't have known [we were capable of putting pressure on top teams and potentially beating Princeton and finishing second], but by looking at the rest of the runners on the team, one could definitely see it," she said.

While the women were focused on the lead pack, the men's expectations were focused on the back of the pack.

In the wake of defeat, Harvard men's top finisher Scott Macio (25:58, 34th) reflected on the team's expectations entering the meet.

Macio admitted that the results were not very encouraging for this season, but he was quick to shed some optimistic light on the otherwise embarrassing results.

"The team is made up of mostly freshman and sophomores with only one senior on the team," Macio said. "So if everyone improves as they hope to and as they have been this season, next year we have the chance to be in the top three."

This prospect is not as overly ambitious as it may sound. Navy, projected to finish fifth this year, surprised the competition by claiming the top two individual spots and the team title as well.

"That's what were hoping," Macio said. "To have some good races [next year] and then everything come together at once."

The improvement and the cross country creed leave the Crimson with enduring hope for Easterns and for subsequent seasons as these distance runners pace themselves for a long uphill climb in the standings.