By Taylor Nigrelli
Assistant Sports Editor
The men and women’s cross country teams depart today to compete in the Mason Invitational at George Mason University in Leesburg, Va.
The race begins at 10 tomorrow morning.
The meet will be a smaller affair than usual as only nine teams are participating. However, according to coach Bob Macfarlane, this will not affect the competitiveness.
“This meet should be interesting,” Macfarlane said. “There’s not going to be many teams there, but it should be very competitive. The teams are all very good.”
Two teams competing in the meet are Atlantic 10 foes LaSalle and George Washington.
While Macfarlane conceded LaSalle is out of reach, he expects to compete with George Washington.
“GW is going to be there, so that’s going to be interesting,” Macfarlane said. “They’re one of the teams we’re looking to catch in the A-10s; we want to get them on both sides this race.”
Macfarlane admitted placing high in the men’s race will be especially tough. He believes the performance of sophomore Nick Masiello could be a key to the team’s placement.
“We need Nick doing well,” Macfarlane said. “He needs to get his swagger back. He was a little down after the Notre Dame race, but he’s been doing very well.”
The coach held a more optimistic view of the women’s team’s chances.
“I’d like to see the girls in the middle again,” Macfarlane said. “We’ve done some scouting, and there are some very good teams but if everyone runs their best for us, we can be top three.”
Macfarlane said the key to the women’s team’s success is the performance of sophomore Hannah Robinson.
At Notre Dame, Robinson cut more than three minutes off her Little Three Invitation time to finish in 19:34. The score was only seven seconds off of her personal best.
Macfarlane believes the turnaround is going to show the rest of the season.
“In the first race she didn’t look good at all,” Macfarlane said. “We had a talk after that. We had a heart to heart. She took it seriously and her attitude turned around.”
Robinson claims her success at Notre Dame was a result of her performance at the Little Three Invitational.
“The Little Three race was definitely a wakeup call,” Robinson said. “It was like alright Hannah, time to step it up. I can be very hard on myself, and I’m my own worst critic.”
Sophomore manager Corey Krajewski said he knew Robinson was back when he saw her finish at Notre Dame.
“I don’t think anyone was happier than Hannah after the Notre Dame meet,” Krajewski said. “She looked so good in the last 200 meters; you knew she was back to where she wanted to be.”
As a captain, Robinson understands her role on the team is more than just to be a great runner. She believes leadership by example is also important.
“I look at my role on the team as setting an example,” Robinson said. “I want to encourage others to work hard every day because I’m out working hard every day. “
Robinson also said she tries to be supportive of the team and help Macfarlane recruit girls with better times than her.
Robinson being at her peak is vital to the team, according to Macfarlane.
“She’s the catalyst,” Macfarlane said. “She’s like the hub of the wheel; we’re trying to build around her.”
However, Macfarlane doesn’t like to over-emphasize the importance of one runner.
“Everyone is important,” Macfarlane said. “Cross Country is an individual sport, but the better you get, the better we get. That’s how you build a team.”
