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EDINBORO, PA – Sitting on the front of
Edinboro University cross country coach Doug Watts’ desk is a
rather large trophy that tends to engulf his smallish desk. The
trophy has been there for almost a year now, although he’s
hoping he has a chance to replace it with another one this
weekend. The trophy in question is the second place trophy from
last year’s women’s race at the NCAA Division II Cross
Country National Championships.
The Fighting Scots would love for nothing
better than a similar performance this Saturday, November 19, when
they compete in the 2005 National Championships in Pomona, CA. The
site itself could play a major role. A year ago the Nationals were
run in the cooler climate of Evansville, IN. The forecast calls
for highs in the mid 70’s on Saturday, temperatures the
Fighting Scots have not trained in in weeks.
“The heat definitely concerns me,”
admitted Watts. “If it stays in the mid 70’s without the
smog, it will be okay. I don’t think the women will be
affected.”
The women’s race gets underway at 11 a.m.
PST, the men’s race at 12 noon.
Last year’s second place finish was the
highest in school history for the women’s team, and three
All-Americans return from that lineup. The women’s team is
currently ranked fifth in Division II, and Watts is excited to see
how his team will do this time around.
“We seem to be ready to run,”
he related in regards to both the men’s and women’s
teams. “We’re as fit as we’ve been at any time
during the year. There are no major problems.”
“The girls’ objective is the
same as last year, which is to come home with a trophy, meaning a
top four finish. Whether they can equal what they did last year
depends the other teams. Adams State is out of our class. They are
one of the top teams in the country, period, at any level. They
beat Colorado, and Colorado is number four in the country. A year
ago we ran well and the others didn’t. Western State, Grand
Valley State, Chico State and foreign-dominated Harding are the
teams we’ll be competing with.”
The women’s team has dominated the
competition while winning both the PSAC and East Region titles.
Watts feels the Fighting Scots are probably a bit better up front
than last season, with Julie Nemergut (Youngstown, OH/South
Range) and Rachael Lanzel (St. Marys, PA/St. Marys Area)
back. Nemergut, a senior, earned All-American honors with a tenth
place finish at Nationals. She won her second straight PSAC
championship recently, and then finished third at the Eastern
Regional. Lanzel is running even better than a year ago, when as a
freshman she placed 24th at her first Nationals to earn
All-American certificate. Lanzel placed second at both the PSAC’s
and the Regional.
CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS HEAD TO NATIONALS –
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In addition, the Fighting Scots will count on
seniors Kelly Richards (Edinboro, PA/General McLane) and
Lindsay Roberts (Wattsburg, PA/Seneca). Richards barely
missed earning All-American accolades last year, placing 38th. She
earned All-PSAC and All-Region honors with finishes of fifth and
14th, respectively. Roberts has only run in those two events this
year due to a knee injury, finishing 18th at the PSACs, then
earning All-Region honors with an eighth place finish two weeks
ago.
Michelle Kelly (Carlisle, PA/Carlisle)
has been the surprise of the 2005 Fighting Scots. The senior has
placed 15th at the PSAC Championships and sixth at the East
Regional, her first honors in both events.
The men’s team placed second at the PSAC
Championships, then turned in a strong effort in the East Regional
to edge Lock Haven for the title. “I’ve certainly raised
my expectations from what they were in October for the men’s
team,” noted Watts. “We’d like to equal what we did
last year, which was a top eight finish. That was exceedingly
satisfying.”
“(Ryan) Coon and (Jared) Lowry
will have to run at or near All-American level, and we’ll
have to find a fifth man at Nationals,” commented Watts. “Our
fifth man wasn’t that strong at regionals, but it didn’t
hurt us. It will cost us big time at Nationals.”
Ryan Coon (Clymer, NY/Sherman) seeks to
join a rare group of Boro runners to earn All-American honors
three times. The senior, who tends to run his best late in the
year, was 17th at nationals a year ago and 34th in 2003. He placed
fifth at both the PSAC Championships and the East Regional. Only
ten other Edinboro runners have earned All-American runners more
than twice.
After a disappointing 17th place finish at the
PSAC Championships, John Moneyhon (Columbus, OH/Dublin
Coffman) came back to place tenth at the regional meet. Like
Moneyhon, Dan Field (Boston, NY/East Aurora) improved his
showing at the regional, going from 22nd at PSACs to 15th at the
East Regional. Watts is hoping that Jeremy Boehm (Lewisberry,
PA/Red Land) can turn in another strong performance at
Nationals after finishing 60th last year. The senior has placed
23rd at PSACs and 25th at the regional.
The men’s cross country team is currently
ranked eighth in Division II. |
