Happy Women Run Best
9/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 17, 2009
By MOISEKAPENDA BOWER
Britany Williams had already initiated the process of self-examination, of peering back into her past and marveling over how far she had come while also analyzing precisely where she stood. She had matured physically and emotionally, both as a distance runner and as a Rice student, before coming to the stark realization of what her future held in store while preparing to compete in the final meet of her junior season.
By then, Williams had discovered that gravitating toward Lennie Waite prior to an event was a wise exercise. Waite had already completed the remarkable transformation from reserve soccer player to decorated distance runner, and Williams figured the more she studied Waite the more likely she could glean the secrets to her stunning success. So, as the Owls readied to warm-up, Williams took her customary position next to Waite and waited for Waite to do whatever it is that winners do.
Then, like a ton of bricks, it hit Williams that Waite was a senior. And if Williams had designs on leading in a fashion similar Waite, mimicking Waite during pre-race preparations wouldn't suffice. When eyes turned to Williams during her senior year, she'd be the one setting the example.
"I told Lennie that I don't know what our warm-up plan is because I always just follow what she does," Williams said. "And then I realized that I have to memorize it now because next year I'm going to have to do it."
That moment of shock was temporary because by merely observing the seniors perform in practice and at meets, Williams was prepping to lead. Women's track and field has taken on a dynastic tenor at Rice under coach Jim Bevan, and the Baton Phenomenon he discusses while explaining the Owls' otherworldly stretch of eight Conference USA championships over the last nine cross country, indoor and outdoor conference track meets extends to the daily upkeep of his dominant program.
The de facto baton of expectation and excellence handed to the seniors last year was passed to Williams and her peers, and like any selfless and focused relay runner, the seniors have every intention of passing the baton to those next in line. They are caretakers of a winning tradition.
"I stayed a fifth year for a multitude of reasons, but I really appreciate the fact that I'm getting at least a year with 16 people who will be here for at least two or three more years," fifth-year senior Claire Shorall said in reference to the 16 freshmen and sophomores on the Owls' 2009 cross country roster. "I think in that way it's a really tangible effect. I hope that leadership on this team is defined by the juniors and seniors on this team because we're really humming."
Without debate or discussion, the Owls point to one meet as the genesis of their current dynasty: the Notre Dame Invitational on Sept. 28, 2007.
"A few years ago we had the right group, and the meet at Notre Dame was such a big breakthrough because you talked about we can do this and we can do that, but all of a sudden at one moment everything jelled," Bevan said. "We didn't end up being the No. 2 team in the nation that year, but we did beat eight ranked schools when we weren't ranked and we won the biggest meet in the country. And at that juncture, all of a sudden, everybody truly started believing, and it raised their perception of the program and what they could do.
"Instead of it just being talk, they saw reality. For a couple of weeks it was the reality of, `Look how good we are.' When that changed the behavior, the way they carried themselves, their conscious thoughts all started changing. If I were to pick a moment, that was the moment."
The Owls defeated eight ranked teams on that fateful Friday in South Bend, Ind., including second-ranked Michigan, No. 7 Illinois and No. 12 Florida State. With Marissa Daniels, a senior, leading the way the Owls used the results from that meet to catapult into the national consciousness and to springboard to their second consecutive C-USA title. That victory also served as a flashpoint for the subsequent track seasons as the Owls defended their indoor and outdoor titles later that academic year, and completed the three-peat this past spring semester.
That Rice has managed to claw its way atop the C-USA heap and remain there reflects how Bevan skillfully manipulates key athletic paradoxes.
In a sport where individual success is heralded, Bevan has instilled a team-first camaraderie that permeates throughout the program. Shorall admittedly isn't the most accomplished runner, but she is an indefatigable contributor behind the scenes. She is a one-woman welcoming committee, cheerleader and advisor, confidant and comrade. Her ceaseless yielding to teammates confirms the `perform for others' program mantra, yet she is brazen when outlining what the Owls have accomplished and the manner in which they navigated a path to the top.
"We have a different confidence level now," Shorall said. "We have different expectations to what we can do and should be doing. I think that we did a really good job of emphasizing the importance of the smaller victories that we had beforehand. We've always done a good job of celebrating in the moment."
Reveling in the now - adhering to the process and not the results as Bevan likes to call it - presents another classic paradox. By committing to the daily grind of practice and maintaining a healthy attitude outside of athletics, positive results come naturally. Of course the more success one enjoys the easier it is to cleave to mechanisms that yield success, so as Bevan keeps preaching process, the Owls keep thriving in big meets.
When Williams arrived as a freshman, she questioned her commitment to running and pondered exactly what she was seeking from competition. But over time she began to pursue individual goals, striving for personal records at each meet with a verve that swelled with experience. The more she committed to improving the more Williams excelled, and when presented opportunities to bolster the team dynamic, Williams found team and individual goals intersecting.
"My expectations for myself have raised so much that now it's almost hard to remember how I was my freshman year," Williams said. "I'm so thankful that Jim reminds you all the time that our program is a growing program and you can do amazing things between your freshman and senior year, that the bar is raised but you might not hit that bar your first year here. Now I expect all of our freshmen and all of our sophomores to have those drastic improvements over time."
Said Bevan: "The more you deal with worrying about results, you're going to have problems. If you deal with the process, the results take care of themselves. You've got to make sure it's process oriented."
But perhaps the most fundamental tenet Bevan has built his program on is an insistence on fostering a nurturing environment. The Baton Phenomenon thrives because the runners are emotionally invested in the well being of their teammates. Competitors don't scan the scoreboard or calculate point totals in their head or rally around the pole vault pit to cheer on a teammate without truly caring how others perform. Selfishness and insincerity are easily exposed in an atmosphere where sacrifice is embraced and self-adulation is shunned.
The success is shared by everyone involved, with the lionized quick to acknowledge the accomplishments of those who propelled them to a perch on the podium. Cultivating such a philosophy is easy with a program that has had only two stewards, Bevan and his predecessor Victor Lopez, during a three-decade span. Athletes arrive, forge a lasting connection with the spirit of the program, and depart only in physical form. Emotionally they remain, and the bond strengthens with each class, the admiration building on top of itself until it becomes a self-perpetuating entity of reverence and good will that supports the underlying theme Bevan unequivocally believes: happy women run best. He challenges their competitive nature and pushes them to milk every ounce of talent from their bodies, but Bevan understands and nurtures his athletes in the same manner Lopez did before he retired.
"When they're recruited we talk about how our program is unique," Bevan said. "There have only been two coaches in 30, 31 years, and there is a basic philosophy that gets passed down. There are things that I don't know about said behind the scenes, actions or examples that have been passed down. It's unique. I'm a part of it because I came here as a 25-year-old with my first job. That got passed down to me.
"It's a program that belongs to about 300 women, and we're all trying to continue to push forward and try to achieve as much as we can achieve. And hopefully we achieve even more than we have done, because I continue to think that we have something special."
The legacy of support means more than the plaques stacked in Bevan's office. Sure the Owls are motivated to reclaim their perch atop C-USA in cross country - SMU swiped the crown last season - but winning isn't the ultimate goal for those closely affiliated with Rice track and field.
When Shorall and Williams move on, they want their legacy to be that of champions and companions, of athletes who excelled because they cared as much about teammates as they did individual glory. The example they set isn't expressed by crossing the finish line first, but by the daily routine of preparing to perform like victors in track and life.
"What's important with us is that the older kids on the team really care about freshman and sophomore development, really care about them becoming good people and being well-rounded," Shorall said. "The legacy will live on because we continue to bring in absolutely awesome individuals who buy into that mentality."
Said Williams: "Maybe we won't win conference every year for the next 20 years - it'd be nice - but you're going to be successful on an individual level if you have people that are passionate and that have that drive. Having that drive, you can't fake that, and that's what I hope our team continues to have and never loses because you can shoot for the stars if you have that drive.
"It's like we have this toolbox of skills, and I feel very confident that enough people have access to that toolbox that you're not going to mess up. You're good."
Players Mentioned
