For the women’s cross country team, November means one thing: championships.

After capturing the Empire 8 title last weekend, the Bombers turn their focus toward the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships on Nov. 14, hoping for a shot at nationals.

The Bombers clinched their seventh straight Empire 8 title at the Saratoga Invitational in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., keeping their perfect conference championship win streak alive.

Ithaca’s continued dominance since the Empire 8 began holding a women’s cross country conference meet in 2003 demonstrates how the team is constantly building throughout its season.

The Bombers are exactly where they want to be as a team moving into the grind of the postseason, with everyone pulling together as a team.

“We are starting to hit our stride and get ready for regionals,” senior Amanda Boccio said.

In order to be fully prepared for the upcoming regionals, the Bombers have begun their tapering phase of the season, a time when the squad scales back its mileage and workout routine slightly.

Now, instead of doing five 800-meter repetitions, the team does four, making sure they are in top shape for when it matters most.

Coming off a forth place finish at the New York State College Track Conference Championships two weeks ago, the South Hill squad stepped it up with a strong showing at the Empire 8 Championships.

Running against conference and nonconference competition at the Saratoga Invitational, the Bombers beat all but one team, St. Lawrence University, and scored a total of 65 points as they knocked off all conference opponents. Leading the pack again, as she has all season, was freshman Jenn Randall. She placed first among Empire 8 competitors and fourth overall in the race.  

“I was really excited,” Randall said. “We all ran well, and we are improving upon our last races.”

The six-time Empire 8 Runner of the Week ran her fastest time of the year Saturday with a time of 17:52.

Close behind Randall this season were a slew of Blue and Gold harriers, all of whom have stuck together in a pack, helping reduce the point total for the Bombers. Usually led by Boccio and senior Melanie McCormick, the pack includes senior Bridget Hastings, sophomore Heidi Baumbach and freshman Meghan Shanley, with juniors Cathy Ortiz and Liz Schloss right behind.

In the Empire 8 race, the Bombers displayed the depth of their team, with the No. 4 and No. 8 runners finishing only 13 seconds apart.

“Coach always tells us to work together to pass other teams, not alone,” Schloss said.  “Mentally it helps because you run together with each other in practice every day, so you know you can stick together. We push each other in the pack to keep it up and not drop off, to run together at our best.”

Though the conference title is an accomplishment, it is not the Bombers’ ultimate goal, which is a berth at the NCAA Championships at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. In order to secure their 10th straight NCAA trip, the Bombers will need to run together as a unit to maximize every team point, because qualifying as a team could be determined by a single runner.

“It would be great to end off the seniors’ careers with a trip to nationals, as we have gone in our past three years,” Boccio said. “Nationals is something we all look forward to.”