Heps But No Hobbies
Jim Sapienza hasn't stopped running since he won the 600-yard dash in a grade school fitness program in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, eight years ago. "That made me the best in the school," Sapienza said. "I figured if I kept on running, I might be the best in junior high and high school." Sapienza became a member of his six-year high school's cross country and track teams when he was in the seventh grade. He competed primarily in the one-mile, two-mile, and crosscountry events. "There were six state meets while I was in junior high and high school and I never won a state title until the last race. In my last high school race as a senior, I finally won the state title."
During the summer before Sapienza's senior year in high school, he had taken a look at academically-inclined schools with top running programs. "Dartmouth was the only Ivy League school that called me back. So I visited the school and decided to come up here," he said. On October 29, when he crossed the five-mile Van Cortlandt Park course in New York City in 24:37.1, Sapienza became the first Big Green runner to win the prestigious Heptagonal Cross Country Championship since 1948. The 19-year-old sophomore was nearly 30 seconds ahead of runner-up David Olds of Princeton at 2 5:01.2, and of defending champion Matt Farmer, also of Princeton. Paced by Sapienza's victory and sophomore teammate Mike Fadil's fourthplace finish, Dartmouth took second-place team honors in the Heps to two-time defending champion Princeton. A year earlier, Sapienza had finished 15th in the Heps and Dartmouth had finished fifth as a team.
The last time a Dartmouth runner won the annual cross-country classic occurred in 1948, when Stanton Waterman turned the trick. "The second-place team finish at the Heps and Sapienza's victory are the highlights of my coaching career," said third-year coach Vin Lananna. "The weather was hot in New York City, which doesn't favor us, and Jim just took off. It really wasn't a race after two miles."
On November 13, Sapienza ran a fantastic time of 30:38 over the 10,000-meter course at Lehigh University to qualify for the N.C.A.A. championship in Bloomington, Indiana, on November 22. Sapienza finished seventh overall in a field of more than 325 runners and was the fourth American finisher. He paced a Big Green squad that finished 12th in its section of the IC4A and missed qualifying as a team for the N.C.A.A. championships by a mere 12 points. Sapienza's performance marks the third year in a row that Dartmouth has sent a runner to the N.C.A.A. championship meet. Sapienza hopes to finish among the top 25 U.S. runners.
Winning the Heps is not the highlight of Sapienza's running career, however. "The Heps was a goal for this season, but so far the highlight was winning a race this past summer. It was 5,000 meters. The Junior Nationals. I won in Bloomington, and it won me a place on the international competition team which competed in Venezuela during the summer," Sapienza said. Sapienza runs about 100 miles a week. He runs four to six miles in the morning and about ten in the afternoon. His training ground includes Chase Field, the Hanover Country Club golf course, and the roads around Hanover. Sapienza won the last four dual cross-country meets before the Heptagonals. "Running has a lot to do with maturing, gaining overall strength, and becoming a smarter runner. In the past I've idolized other runners and that gave me the drive to reach their performances," Sapienza said. Sapienza said he doesn't have a lot of spare time left after his studies, working for the English Department, and running. "It's hard to have a hobby when you're going to school," said Sapienza. Especially when you're running 100 miles a week.
Jim Sapienza runs a cool hundred miles a week.
