Issue date: 11/10/04 Section: Sports

There is no "I" in team, but the Suffolk University women's cross country team came as close as you can get without breaking this old cliché.

This year Suffolk was represented by two talented female athletes, including freshman Jaime Mancuso and All-Conference Great Northeast Athletic Conference award winner Samantha Urwin.

Urwin, a native of Newton, New Hampshire and sophomore here at Suffolk, carried the torch virtually on her own this year. Unlike other teams in the conference, Urwin didn't have a full roster of teammates lined up by her side throughout the season.

"It was a different experience being on this type of team," said Urwin. "It's fun. The coach is really able to focus on you."

At meets, Urwin would be surrounded at the starting line by complete teams from other schools. "The Emerson girls would always ask where the rest of my team was," Urwin joked. Nevertheless she was not intimidated and in the end didn't need any help defeating the competition.

Undoubtedly a gifted athlete and skilled runner, Urwin became the first Suffolk runner to place in the top 10 at a GNAC meet, which is a 3.1-mile race for the women. She placed sixth with a time of 22:03 at the meet, which took place Saturday Oct. 30 at Rivier College.

While being on a team with only one other teammate was something new, the competition Urwin faced was old hack.

"I've always been on cross country, since the fourth grade," commented Urwin.

"I didn't do it last year because I was watching out for my grades. Minus my freshman year, I've always been on a cross country team."

In between working two jobs, Urwin would spend time training for her meets.

If she wasn't practicing at an indoor track, Urwin would take it to the streets of Boston.

"I'll do the 'Charles run,' down to the B.U. Bridge and back to Ridgeway," said Urwin, who also does demanding hill workouts up and down Beacon Hill.

She also spent time running with her coach Don Murray, as well as with the men's cross country team.

"I practiced with the guys on track work outs," mentioned Urwin. "With the guys team, I've always felt like part of a team."

Urwin, who has worked at a special needs camp for the past four summers and hopes to pursue a career in the field of special education, will be transferring across the city next year, to UMass Boston.

However, Urwin will never forget the time she has spent here at Suffolk and credits those around her, especially her coach, for the fond memories of this past year. "It was a great experience. The people here are great and the coach is great," said Urwin.

"I love my coach. He's one of the main reasons I stuck with cross country."

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