Date: Friday, September 21, 2001
Written by Elliott Wiley, Jr.

ADAMS , BALLANTYNE NAMED CO-CAPTAINS OF CROSS COUNTRY

MEDFORD -- Seniors Ellen Adams (Farmington, MI/ Farmington) and Heather Ballantyne (Winchester, MA/ Winchester) were named co-captains of the 2001 Tufts University women's cross country team.

They have large shoes to fill, replacing cross country great Leslie Crofton who finished 5th in the NCAA Division III championship race and was All-NESCAC last season. Behind the leadership of these two captains, the Jumbos' season already looks promising as they finished third in their first meet, the Hayseed Classic, on September 8, 2001.

A four-year varisty runner, Adams has paid her dues and is now a co-captain for her senior season. While she does not have the flashy times that made Leslie Croften so noticable, Adams is a solid contributor to the chemistry of the team. She finished 55th with a time of 24:55.7 over 5,000 meters in the openning meet, the Hayseed Classic. Adams has earned the respect of her teammates as shown by being voted captain and will take this given responsibilty and lead the Jumbos to another great season.

An outstanding runner, Ballantyne has started her season off on the right foot by finishing 13th in the Hayseed Classic (21:26.5), behind tough Conn College, Wheaton College, and Bently College competition. Last season, she finished 31st at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships with an 18:45.75 finish. Ballantyne also finished 20th at last season's NESCAC Championship in 19:44. With all this talent and her experience as a four-year varsity runner, the limit is the sky for Ballantyne.

Last season, the Jumbos finished 7th in the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship behind top competition. Led by co-captains Ellen Adams and Heather Ballantyne, head coach Kristen Morwick's women should run their way back to the top of the NESCAC this fall. The team's next meet is at Frankling Park in Boston for the annual Codfish Bowl featuring competition from all over the area.

#