Coaches' Pre-Race Quotes

Reported by Parker Morse, Photos by Alison Wade

Tim Connolly

Notre Dame's Tim Connolly (left) with BYU's Pat Shane.

Tim Connolly of Notre Dame has brought his women's team to NCAAs three of the last four years, but never before as a regional champions. Notre Dame won the Great Lakes regional for the first time ever in 2002, and also took the Big East title by one point over Georgetown.

On running at NCAAs:
"Well, that's our goal every year, to qualify for this meet, and we've been able to do that now three of the last four years. This by far is the strongest team we've had. This is kind of new territory for us, really."

On what a team would have to do to win the championship:
"If you look at the field, to me there are two teams that are far and away the cream of the crop. I'll be shocked if BYU and Stanford aren't the top two teams. Then I think Colorado is very strong. After that I think there are nine or ten teams that realistically could be in the top five, with a good race, and I'd include us in that group. There's a whole lot of teams that, with a good day, could be up there. But by far, BYU and Stanford are the two clear-cut favorites."

On winning the Great Lakes Regional:
"I think it really gave our kids a lot of confidence. It wasn't close, and when you sit back and say, wow, there are seven teams from this region going to the Nationals, I really think that gave our kids a lot of confidence. Going in to the regional, our goal wasn't really to win it, we wanted to prepare for this week. So we didn't talk about winning it, what we talked about was doing the things that we needed to do to run well this week, tomorrow. Our kids did that, and I think they came out of it with a lot of confidence."

On planning a strategy for the ISU course:
"First off, I think the course is the type of course that doesn't dictate how you race. An athlete can run to their strength. We have some athletes that run from the front, and they're going to be able to do that on this type of course. We have other athletes that are going to be a little more controlled early, and I think the course is fair enough that they can do that. I love the course, because it's fair, and it doesn't force you to run a certain way. We've run on a lot of courses that force you to run a certain way, and this is just a really fair course."

On his on one of his team leaders, freshman Molly Huddle:
"Obviously Molly's a really talented kid. But for a young kid, she's got great composure. She doesn't seem to get flustered. And I think she's benefited, too, because we have another fairly young runner, Lauren King, she's a sophomore, and they've run together the whole year. Every workout, every race, it's been the two of them, side by side. I think she's benefited from that a lot. But she's got a lot of composure for such a young kid. I don't think she's going to get flustered in any kind of situation."

Pat Shane

BYU's Pat Shane.

Patrick Shane, Brigham Young University's women's coach, is a world champion at refusing credit and dodging expectations. His teams have won NCAA titles in '97, '99, and '01, and have been in the top four every year since 1995. Yet Shane still winces in mock pain when BYU are called "favorites."

On BYU's approach to the national meet:
"This is where you'd like to be. There are over 300 women's teams in Division I that would like to be here, and thirty-one of them managed to qualify. That's a pretty elite group. So this is how we celebrate -- that's the best word I can use -- what we do, in front of people like yourselves, and fans, and family members that really care. It's a great celebration. We're happy to be here."

On running at ISU:
"The course is a great course. The grass hasn't quite grown in yet, but it will, and people have absolutely put their heart and soul into this. This is a labor of love, and that's what our sport really is. My hat goes off to the coaches that worked so hard to put this on, to the university that's hosting this. People have to bid for this meet. If they don't, we don't have a dance to go to. We're just grateful that they did so, and they worked so hard to put the course together. It's a phenomenal course. It's a great start, you go 800 meters before you have to make a turn. I think that's really fair. The course is wide, it's well marked, it's reasonably spectator-friendly. I suggested that they put in groomed paths from one side to the other so coaches don't have to step in holes and get hurt, trying to go breakneck speed from one stop to another, but that's what we get paid to do. It's a great course, and we're looking forward to racing on it again."

On how he manages to have great teams year after year:
"I have no idea. You get lucky, is what I think. To answer your question, I know that doesn't do it, when we increased the squad size from twelve or so -- which I felt was the way I wanted to coach, and the number of women I had time for -- to over thirty, all of a sudden people that I would have normally cut I kept, and they became All-Americans... I realized that you just can't tell what's in a person's heart and what they can really do. And when I made that decision a few years back, immediately we began to see results. So if there's a secret, that's really it. The downside is, I have no life. I spend all of my time working with young people, which is what I love to do, but it takes a toll."

On what sets this year's team apart from last year's:
"This year is a little different. Last year's team ran a little tighter one through five. We tried to do that and did do that earlier in the year. But as the competition manifested itself in bigger races, and our top people needed to go out and race, we couldn't do that. So this year instead of having a pretty tight one-through-five split, we'll have a grouping of two or three, at least two, then four or five back a bit further. So that's the difference; last year we had an incredible one through five split; this year we may not have that."

On Notre Dame's Tim Connolly calling BYU "One of the favorites":
"Tim, I didn't want you to say that. On paper, that may be true, but this race is not about what looks good on paper. It appears as though Stanford and BYU, on paper, and in fact in some of the meets, have looked pretty darn good. But this is not any of those meets. This is a totally different meet on a totally different day, and it's a national championship, and interesting things happen at a national championship. I think it's really exciting to have the only two undefeated women's teams, coming here together to race each other, along with some other great teams, for a national championship. But I would say, I wouldn't dare rank any teams in any order. I think there are a number of teams that could do it, based on what happens and how they perform. I agree with Tim, there are five or six teams that certainly have a chance to get on the podium. When you're that close, if you run well, and sometimes other teams don't, any one of those teams could win. Although on paper perhaps BYU and Stanford look strong, that doesn't earn a single All-American award or a single trophy. Colorado's a good team, Georgetown's a good team, North Carolina, Notre Dame, NC State, I don't want to leave anyone out. There are a number of really good teams that could get the job done. I look forward to the challenge."

Vin Lananna

Stanford's Vin Lananna.

Vin Lananna isn't just a coach: he's the "director" of track and field and cross country at Stanford, where he has won numerous track and cross country titles and assembled the deepest men's cross country team
in the coutry, as well as the only women's team expected to challenge BYU for this year's team title.

On finishing up the season at NCAAs:
"Both of our teams are excited. We work together as a combined program. Our women in particular have been running well all season, they've been running in the front each time they've gone out and competed, and when you get to this point in the season there are a lot of really great teams, I know there will be great, tough, stiff competition all the way around. I think that there's an excitement that I haven't quite seen before on both teams, and that is that both seem to be poised for the challenge, and that's probably my best explanation for where we are."

On how this year's teams compare with past teams:
"I don't think I could categorize them as 'the best.' We've had some very good teams through the years. They're a very different kind of kids. Our women's team has three very good front runners. On the guys side, we really have seven very good front-runners, maybe more. What I've seen is there's a mutual respect for each other, for both the teams and the talents. The chemistry is better than I've seen in any program that we've had in my eleven years at Stanford. And that goes a long way when you get to the championship meet. When you begin to pool those talents, and put a lot of them together, critical mass hits, and hopefully, they all support each other when they get out there. That's what I've seen. I don't know athletically if they're better, but certainly in that respect they're better."

On the competition at nationals and how Stanford will face it:
"The way we'll run the race is the same way we've run all our races this year, and really concentrate on what we need to do. On the women's side, we really don't pay a lot of attention to what's happening with other teams. We don't necessarily run like other teams.

We'll get out early. I agree with Tim (Connolly) that the course basically allows
you to run any way you want to run, and we'll run our style of race. As for the other teams in the race, I don't think it's just a small number of teams. There are a lot of good teams out there this year. I certainly think, if I go down and look at the results of the various conference meets and regional meets, Colorado's got a very good team, UNC has a good team, clearly BYU is the strong favorite. (Laughs - while Coach Shane grimaces.) I do think that we have some very strong teams out there, so we're going to pay attention to what we need to do. I don't think anything else is really relevant tomorrow."

On announcing, last year at Furman, that the Stanford style was to get out early and try to hold position, and that was advance notice of the strategy in Indiana:
"Well, on the women's side last year, we didn't get out, we actually got out terribly. So yes, we'll bring that back to the table this year. We do tend to get out. I think we have a different kind of team than we've had over the last couple of years. We have clear, distinct packs of runners. Certainly our first three runners will go out and gain position fairly early. But after saying that last year, I'll be quiet, because we got out horribly last year."

On keeping runners who don't make the top seven motivated:
I think we have a philosophy which is, we know, for a while, that we have a lot of really good kids. They come to Stanford because they want to be there. We do everything we can, as a team, to have them feel that they're a part of what happens. Even though we only have seven athletes who are going to run here, and an eighth who is here as an alternate, there are going to be twenty more guys back at Stanford who'll be waiting anxiously, and who are just as committed to contribute to the team. I think that we do many things during the course of our season to include the entire team.

It's always been my philosophy to have a big team. We like that, it works for us, and these guys may be running at 1:15 tomorrow, but the other guys that are back at Stanford will be running at 10:15 on West Coast time, ready to join in. That's how much they feel a part of the program."

On being ranked number one throughout the year:
"I think the poll doesn't really have a whole lot to do with how we prepare. I think we do have a good team, the athletes are excited, it's a very fair course, wide open. I would agree that I've not seen as many teams that have good chances to win the NCAA as I've seen this year. I think I probably see it the same way as John McDonnell, the top four or five teams that have a good chance to do well. Teams are coming on nicely at the end of the season. I'd say that the ranking of number one, if we're a good team, we should be ranked number one, we'll deal with it that way."

On how running Pre-Nationals prepared Stanford for Nationals:
"I think the course is a fair, wide-open course. It allows you to be able to run, if you have people with good track essentials, I think you can capitalize on that. I think it's a good rhythm course, you can get out and roll. There's really nothing on the course that would dictate your racing strategy. You can do whatever it is that you feel your team would be best suited to do. That's kind of what I got from it."

On the chances of any particular athletes for an individual title:
"I would say that this [mens] team has been dedicated to one thing, and one thing only, and that is team. I don't know anything about any individuals. I know seven guys who are out to toe the line tomorrow, so whether it's Sage, or Robison, or Hall, or Dobson, or whoever it is, we're just going to run as a team. Maybe that will happen, but it's not something that we're going to be looking to."

On whether Peter Meindl will run tomorrow as Stanford's only freshman:
"Yes, he will. I think that's he's a gifted athlete who has trained very hard over the summer, prepared well, and handled all the regimen -- we work pretty hard -- he's handled the regimen of everything we've done all year, so he seemed prepared to be able to run as one of our team members this year. He's only run two races; he ran at the Pre-Nationals, and ran well, and then ran at the PAC-10s and ran well again. And more importantly, since he's been running well, as a result he adds to the chemistry of the team."

John McDonnell

Arkansas' John McDonnell.

John McDonnell of Arkansas is easily the winningest coach in NCAA track and cross-country. His Razorbacks' indoor track championship streak in the '90s numbers among the longest championship streaks in the world, and among their many cross-country championships are the last two times the NCAA meet has been held in Indiana.

On the Razorbacks' luck in Indiana:
"I talked to Sam Bell last night, and he said he guaranteed the same result. Yes, we've been fortunate here, coming to Indiana, we've had great luck, and hopefully, we've got a really good crew [for this year]. We're glad to be here, actually. There are a lot of good teams, there are maybe four or five teams that could win it. I think Vin has got a great team up there at the front, and then ourselves, and Colorado, and Wisconsin and Northern Arizona -- they're all good teams. I think if anybody slips a little bit, any of those teams could be the champion. That's how I look at it."

On Daniel Lincoln's condition:
"He's fine, right now. In the district meet, he had a dehydration problem. But I think he's coming together pretty nicely right now. Our fifth and sixth men, we didn't run them at the district meet, and our 1,500 meter guy, so hopefully that will help them a little bit."

On what it will take for Arkansas to win on Monday:
"We'll have to have all five in the top fifteen, to beat this guy (nods at Lananna and laughs.) We'll have to have Alistair and Daniel up in the top ten, and two more guys in the top twenty somewhere. Then after that, our fifth man I don't know where. Somewhere not too far back, I hope."

On whether not running Pre-Nationals hurts Arkansas at the Nationals:
"No, I called the coaches up here, and they told me the kind of course it was, similar to the one we run on at home, a couple rolling hills on it. But I agree with Vin, you've got to get out there and just roll. It's a fast course, I would think. A little bit damp right now, I was out there last night and it was damp in places, but they've done a lot on that. It's a fair course."

On recruiting athletes for Arkansas who can run at the front of the NCAA race:
"We have to have them. We don't have the depth that Vin does, so we have to have some guys up at the front. Alistair, definitely, and then Daniel. I think if Alistair has a good race, he could be in the front. He's in as good shape as he's ever been in. We have to get our lead guys up in the front, and we'd like to go back not much further than Vin does for our fifth man, I think."

On the course:
"I think it's going to be a very fair course. Except, I don't know who's got the [starting] spot over on the right, it won't be good for them. I think there's a soft spot in the course, by the starting line. I don't know if they're going to address that this afternoon. There's a good, solid soggy patch there, they'll have to fight their way out of it.

Vin Lananna: We drew lots this morning. That's your box, John.

On how this year's team compares with last year's:
"Well, we're definitely the underdog here. I could solve Vinnie's problem here, he could send us about three of those guys he's got waiting back at Stanford. We don't have the depth that Vinnie has. We try to make up for it with our front-runners, and hopefully they hang out up there in front."

[Editor's Note: Colorado coach Mark Wetmore also spoke at the press conference and had some interesting and humorous things to say, but due to time constraints we are unable to include his comments.]