Ivy '10 gets the win
Laura Litman
Issue date: 9/16/09 Section: Sports
The Colby men's and women's cross country teams have high expectations for the fall season and have started off on the right foot. With young teams, seasoned coaches, dedicated and successful returning athletes, and strong leaders, the teams have an exciting season to come.
The female Mules are ranked 17th in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association preseason poll (of 25 teams), and are fourth of ten in the preseason New England Region Poll. Although out until October, due to injury, keep your eye out for Knight, who just missed All-America honors at the national meet, placing 36th (top 35 earn honors). Also, watch for Ivy, who has already proved she will be a threat. Heather MacDonald '10 is running cross country for the first time, after being a member of the Colby Track and Field team, and although how she will contribute is undetermined at this time, she could secure a top-seven position on the team.
First-years Dewdney and Lingar will also run for a top-seven spot on the team. Head Coach Deb Aitken is excited to see what first-years Laura Duff, Megan Flaherty, Virginia Keesler, Brittany Colford and Schwab can do for the team. Aitkin said, "We will depend on our upper classmen to carry the team, but we already know that first years will contribute in a very big way." She continued, "We expect the season to be very challenging, and our goal will be to keep everyone healthy and aim for National qualifying [performances]."
Head Coach Jared Beers' men's team is made up of 23 runners, 11 of whom are first-years. He expects that first-years Desmond, Monro, Letourneau and Peters are all "looking at a varsity spot this year, [but] a lot will depend on how they adapt to the eight-kilometer college race, over the five-kilometer high school race." The 12 returning athletes include co-captains senior Bienkowski and junior Maguire, who both had strong showings this past weekend. Senior Ben Ossoff is sadly out for the season with a knee injury.
Beers's expectation of the entire team is that they "do whatever they can to make Colby a better place and to make the Colby running team better." Beers said, "Our strategy for this season is to train the guys to be aerobic monsters, give them the tools to run a smart race, then let them run."
The cross country teams will attend two invitational meets over the next of couple weeks. The first is against University of Massachusetts and Dartmouth on September 19, and the second is against Williams College on September 26, where, Beers explained, will be a great place for working on eight-kilometer strategy. Races later this season include a home meet on October 3, the State of Maine meet hosted by Colby on October 17, the NESCACs at Trinity College on November 1 and the New England Division III Championships at University of Southern Maine on November 11-14.
The female Mules are ranked 17th in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association preseason poll (of 25 teams), and are fourth of ten in the preseason New England Region Poll. Although out until October, due to injury, keep your eye out for Knight, who just missed All-America honors at the national meet, placing 36th (top 35 earn honors). Also, watch for Ivy, who has already proved she will be a threat. Heather MacDonald '10 is running cross country for the first time, after being a member of the Colby Track and Field team, and although how she will contribute is undetermined at this time, she could secure a top-seven position on the team.
First-years Dewdney and Lingar will also run for a top-seven spot on the team. Head Coach Deb Aitken is excited to see what first-years Laura Duff, Megan Flaherty, Virginia Keesler, Brittany Colford and Schwab can do for the team. Aitkin said, "We will depend on our upper classmen to carry the team, but we already know that first years will contribute in a very big way." She continued, "We expect the season to be very challenging, and our goal will be to keep everyone healthy and aim for National qualifying [performances]."
Head Coach Jared Beers' men's team is made up of 23 runners, 11 of whom are first-years. He expects that first-years Desmond, Monro, Letourneau and Peters are all "looking at a varsity spot this year, [but] a lot will depend on how they adapt to the eight-kilometer college race, over the five-kilometer high school race." The 12 returning athletes include co-captains senior Bienkowski and junior Maguire, who both had strong showings this past weekend. Senior Ben Ossoff is sadly out for the season with a knee injury.
Beers's expectation of the entire team is that they "do whatever they can to make Colby a better place and to make the Colby running team better." Beers said, "Our strategy for this season is to train the guys to be aerobic monsters, give them the tools to run a smart race, then let them run."
The cross country teams will attend two invitational meets over the next of couple weeks. The first is against University of Massachusetts and Dartmouth on September 19, and the second is against Williams College on September 26, where, Beers explained, will be a great place for working on eight-kilometer strategy. Races later this season include a home meet on October 3, the State of Maine meet hosted by Colby on October 17, the NESCACs at Trinity College on November 1 and the New England Division III Championships at University of Southern Maine on November 11-14.
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