The Queens of New England

Once is nice, but twice is better.

Just ask the BU women’s cross-country team, which doubled its fun on Saturday by winning its second straight New England Championship Meet, running away from a field of 44 teams at Franklin Park in Boston. The win brings the Terriers one step closer to qualifying for the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.

Sophomore Christine Laakso set the pace for BU, finishing seventh overall with a time of 18:01 and leading a parade of three Terriers placing in the top 10.

“I pretty much went out like I always do,” said Laakso, who has been BU’s top finisher in each of the team’s three meets so far this season. “It helps a lot if you’re running in a big group, especially with teammates. It really helps you push off each other.”

Laakso certainly had that support at Franklin Park, with teammates Abbey Sadowski and Marisa Ryan finishing directly behind her, all within 13 seconds of the winning time. Seniors Victoria Botticelli and Jessica Iannacci closed out the scoring for the Terriers, finishing in 12th and 20th, respectively.

“We definitely expected to come in and win,” said Iannacci, who had to sit out last season’s New England meet with an injury. “We would have been disappointed with anything less.”

Coach Bruce Lehane saw the meet in a similar light.

“The team title was never really in question,” he said. “It’s just watching our people perform and getting another read to see where our people are, and where we need to get them.”

Jumping off of Lehane’s page was Laakso, whose time solidified her place as one of the top runners in the Northeast. The sophomore garnered America East weekly honors for her efforts after nabbing the conference’s top finish in the meet.

“Any time she goes out there I expect her to run strongly and be toward the front,” said Lehane.

As good as Laakso has been throughout the 2005 campaign, her supporting cast has been right with her every step of the way. The New England Championships marked the second straight meet in which one of Laakso’s teammates finished directly behind her, highlighting the Terriers’ team mentality in a traditionally individual sport.

“They kind of stabilize one another,” Lehane said of his top runners, who blend upperclassmen and younger athletes. “I can see before the races that their minds are in different places, which is kind of nice – it keeps them from going too far in any one direction.”

Victory was not without its challenges, however, as the Terriers had to battle their way through rain, mud, and a gargantuan field of 301 runners, all set against a backdrop of stifling humidity.

“It was hard to breathe,” said Iannacci, who found her own ways to cope with the conditions. “We were slipping around a bit, but it was fun to run in the puddles.”

BU finished the day with 56 points, less than half of Williams College’s second-place total of 133. Yet, despite the impressive performance, many Terriers saw the meet as nothing more than a stepping stone to their greater goals.

“We won the New Englands last year too and we’re happy to repeat, but we want to do better,” said Laakso. “Hopefully the best is yet to come.”

The Terriers’ true test will come in November’s regional meet, in which a strong performance can vault the squad to the national championships. Yet Lehane knows that to do so, BU will need to improve upon its already impressive resume.

“What was very successful at this competition will not make it at the regional meet,” he said, careful not to take anything for granted. “We have to move on, move up.”

Before they can take on the best of the Northeast, however, the Terriers must first square off against the best of the America East, in a conference championship heavily skewed in their favor. BU will be a prohibitive favorite entering the Oct. 29 event, and by all rights have its sights set far beyond the top of the league.

“We’ll kind of take the America East in stride,” said Lehane. “I’d be extremely shocked if we lost. I’d probably start crying.”