Unfortunately, all preparations proved in vain as the Badgers took the crown securely with a time of 6:35.00 while the Tigers grabbed second in 6:39.70. The Black and White again found itself in third place, finishing in 6:45.30.
One final event remained for Radcliffe to attempt to unseat the pair, and it would be the biggest stage on which to do it.
At the IRA National Championships, the Black and White showed that it had improved and made strides towards toppling one of the two.
But Radcliffe fell just short, as Wisconsin took the race and the national title by about three-fourths of a length. Princeton edged out the Black and White for the silver by just over one and a half seconds.
A national championship may not have been in the cards, yet Radcliffe proved that it has no qualms about making a splash among top competition.
—Staff writer J. Patrick Coyne can be reached at coyne@fas.harvard.edu.