2023 D3 XC Championship Files: Phoebe Ward, Sophie McManus, Mary Blanchard
“You can anticipate something like that all season. Like in theory, we knew we could do it. But actually seeing that [the scoreboard with Carleton #1] and knowing that we did it was just a completely different thing.”
Phoebe Ward, Sophie McManus, and Mary Blanchard join D3 Glory Days to relive their national championship!
With all but Clara Mayfield returning from last year’s team, Carleton knew they had something special. They relied on their pack running and knew every runner mattered as they got closer to Nationals.
The turning point in the season was when they won the Mike Woods Invite, taking down SUNY Geneseo, Johns Hopkins and Lynchburg. Before the race, they were hoping to finish third.
What propelled Carleton forward this year was how close they were a team. On the line they kept things loose and reminded each other of what makes them stand out.
Quotes:
“When you can't rely anymore on one person, then everyone feels important and everyone shares in this team goal. You have to realize that every point matters and that everyone on the team has a job to do.”
“I think like when you lose someone that strong, it makes everyone else realize that they are all valuable and they have to step up in order to accomplish this task.”
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