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Edinboro Athletic Press Release Index
EDINBORO, PA - Edinboro University's cross country teams have a great deal of tradition to live up to in this Saturday's PSAC Championships and the Fighting Scots are running the right path. Edinboro enters as the only team with national rankings for both the men and women, with both teams standing in eleventh in Division II. Edinboro has led the regional rankings all season. The Championships begin at Lock Haven on Saturday morning, October 27th. The women start at 10 a.m. and the men begin at 11 a.m.
The Edinboro men have won nine consecutive PSAC titles, winning 18 crowns overall in the meet's 21-year history. The Scots are also looking to defend the individual reign as champion. Edinboro has produced 17 straight individual champions.
Last year, the men made a commanding statement with only 25 points, while Shippensburg placed a distant second with 90 points. The Scots took home the top three spots, but only one of the trio returns to the race this year. The reigning champion, Jeff Barker, went out on top as a senior, while second-place finisher Aaron Rowe (Dublin, OH/Dublin Scioto) is red-shirting in his junior year. Yi Min Wu (Tian Jin, China) returns to the meet this year, after his third place finish in 2000. Wu captured the individual championship in 1999 before going on to become the Division II national champion.
The Scots return several other strong runners who proved to be very competitive last year. Ryan Kelly (Vero Beach, FL/Vero Beach) finished eighth, while Joe Janke (Denver, PA/Cocalico) surprised many runners with an eleventh-place finish as a freshman. The Boro's Nat Wibberley (Wyomissing, PA/Wyomissing) and Joe Reynolds (North East, PA/North East) crossed the line in 12th and 13th place, respectively. All seven of Edinboro's men were accorded All-PSAC honors.
Coach Doug Watts' approach to the Championships is very relaxed. "We're going to work hard this week without a lot of emphasis on the PSAC," he related. We're trying to put all of our eggs in the regional and national meets. That's been the tradition so far and there's no reason to change it this year.
"The real pressure lies in the chase for the individual title. With us red-shirting Rowe, the favorite falls to another team." Nonetheless, Watts expects great success from his men. Edinboro will still have front runners in Wibberley, Wu, and junior Tim Cron (Sayre, PA/Sayre), who finished sixth in the 1999 championships and sat out last season due to an injury. Freshman Mark Hryvniak (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) also poses a threat as a top contender. The 33-year head coach foresees all of the men finishing in the top ten.
Watts anticipates great success for the women, as well. The Scots were far ahead of the competition, scoring 31 points, followed by runner-up Lock Haven with 65 points. Four women placed in the top five last season, sweeping second through fifth place to lead Edinboro to its fourth consecutive title. The Fighting Scots have won ten out of the past 14 championships.
This year's seniors, Kathy Breisch (Quakertown, PA/Quakertown) and Lisa Petsche (Dublin, OH/Dublin Coffman), are Edinboro's top returning runners as the second and fifth-place finishers from the 2000 meet. Breisch and Petsche were both awarded All-PSAC accolades. Watts expects senior Jocelyn Smith (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler), who finished 24th in what was her first cross country meet, to join these runners in the top five spots in the meet. According to Watts, "the only other girls who can run with our top three are All-Americans." Petsche is the only returning All-American to the PSAC competition, however, Kutztown returns its reigning champion, Megan Seefeldt to challenge the Scots. Seefeldt crossed the line a mere five seconds ahead of Breisch last year.
Senior Lynann Lorenz (Vestal, NY/Vestal) hopes to repeat her All-PSAC performance, as she placed 17th in last year's championship, while Edinboro's freshmen runners should also have a big impact. Watts is confident that if Kiersten Buckley (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst Prep) runs as she did early on in the season, if Lindsey Roberts (Wattsburg, PA/Seneca) continues her consistency, and if Lisa Gallagher (Strongsville, Oh/Strongsville) continues to improve day after day, these freshmen have the potential to compete for some top spots.
Following Saturday's Championships, the Scots will set their sights on their next hurdles. Slippery Rock hosts the Regional Championships on Saturday, November 3 and the National Championships on November 17.
~ Fighting Scots ~
Edinboro Athletic Press Release Index
Created on ... October 24, 2001