Junior Taryn Surtees took first at the UAA championship and was named UAA Most Valuable Athlete for the second straight year. (Mary Butkus | WUSTL Photo Services)

Hometown: Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Major: Spanish/Biology

Taryn Surtees finished first with a 21:07 as the women’s cross country team won the 2009 UAA championship. Surtees earned the UAA Most Valuable Athlete title for the second year in a row and is the Student Life Athlete of the Week.

Student Life: When did you start running?

Taryn Surtees: I started running track in 7th grade. I ran the 800-meter race after finding that hurdles didn’t really work out for me. The year after I started running cross country as a last minute decision to stay in shape for track. However over time I began to appreciate cross country more and more.

SL: Out of three years running for Wash U., you’ve been the UAA most valuable athlete twice. How was it different the second time?

TS: Last year it was a lot more exciting. It was a really big goal of mine. However this year I’m a lot more focused on the team, I was worried more about how the team was performing at conference rather than just myself. It ended up putting a lot less pressure on me, which is when I run the best, so it was probably a big factor in my race time. Being the UAA most valuable athlete was more of a steeping stone to the greater goals I have this year.

SL: What are your personal goals for the season?

TS: I haven’t talked to the coach yet, but I am really hoping to be in the top 10 at nationals. I was hoping for top 5, and that’s still at the back of my mind, but there are a lot of variables and strong runners who are going to be there, so it’s really more realistic to aim for top 10.

SL: Is there a certain time you want to beat?

TS: Well at Oshkosh I got a 34 second personal best of 21:07, so breaking 21 minutes would be awesome. We have regionals at the same course as Oshkosh, so I hope I will do as well as I would like. But I’m definitely more focused on the team doing well. I was more worried about time when I was in track, but in cross country I’m a lot more focused on the team.

SL: How do you balance work, being a pre-med major, and running?

TS: It’s definitely a learning process, and without a doubt something that I’ve learned how to do with time. I used to feel really bad in freshman year when I couldn’t concentrate on my work on the bus because people were talking, but since then I’ve gotten a lot better at managing my time. I know that I won’t have my team forever so Id rather be spending time with them when I can at the meets, rather than worrying about work that I may be missing. We do run at 6:30 in the morning so that requires getting enough sleep, which can be hard when you have an exam the next day. It’s definitely a trade off between work and running, but I’m getting a lot better at balancing it with time.

SL: You’ve got another year after this. Do you think the Wash U girls can win UAAs again? And do you think you could get most valuable athlete again?

TS: I don’t know. Everything depends on being healthy, who’s in the conference, or if some crazy freshman comes out of nowhere, you never really know. A lot of things could happen. I don’t think we’ve ever had a three time champion at the UAAs, so I would love to be the first.

SL: Is there anything you want people to know about cross country that they may not know about?

TS: Yes! Races are six kilometers! So many people come up to me asking what event I run in cross country. Every cross country race is the same distance, 6K!

Cross country competes at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships on Nov. 14 in Oshkosh, Wis.

“It was a strong performance. I think [that] the first meet is always important just to get back into the swing of things and get back to competing and training,” senior Aubrey Edwards said.

“I thought for having a meet four days after coming back that, as a whole, we performed very well,” Assistant Coach Lane Lohr said.

Wash. U. broke into the win column with first and second place finishes by senior Jessica Lane and freshman Katie Hered. Freshman Emily Babiss took the women’s triple jump. The women then dominated the 200-meter dash as senior Erica Wade, junior Caitlin Hartsell, senior Caitlin Malloy and freshman Elisabeth Stocking finished first, second, fourth and fifth, respectively.

The men won their first event with a first through third finish in the 55-meter dash, with senior Pierre Hoppenot, sophomore Tom Gulyas and senior Todd Mowry finishing in that order. Sophomore Dave Spandorfer and junior Alden Black then finished first and second in the 3,000-meter run. The men took one more event during the meet, as sophomore Ben Harmon, senior Nate Kosloff, freshman Dan Davis and junior Iby Umana won the 4×400-meter relay.

The women followed suit in the 3,000-meter run, with freshman Liz Phillips and sophomore Taryn Surtees taking first and second.

“We had several champions. The girl’s team was going against the defending national champions, so to be within 10 points or so of the national champions was very nice. And for the guys to win…that’s a very encouraging start, and I think that shows our depth over all of the events,” Lohr said.

The team’s depth not only spans all events, but also all undergraduate classes. Senior Danny Luce placed third and fifth in the weight throw and shot put, with his weight throw distance of 14.15 meters setting a personal best by more than one meter.

In their first collegiate competition, freshmen hurdlers Tyler Jackson and Dan Davis took second and third in the 55-meter hurdles, respectively.

For the women, freshman Amari Mason placed at least fourth in the 60-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles and long jump.

The women’s team was also satisfied with its level of competition against the reigning national champions.

“It was kind of a marker for us since you’re competing against a historically great track and field program, and I think that we were happy with that. Knowing that we’re just a little bit behind them was encouraging ’cause there’s still time to make changes and get better,” Edwards said.

The team is using these early meets to train before the UAA Championships on March 6 and the NCAA Indoor Championships the following week. At the UAA meet, individuals will also make their final push to qualify for the national meet.

The team continues its season on Saturday at the Illinois College Snowbird Open and will compete every weekend in hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 13-14.

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