Season Outlook
|
| Kelly Reitz |
The standard has been set and the 1999 version of Cedarville College women's cross country has a simple goal of keeping the trend going. The Lady Jackets have had six straight Top 20 showings at the NAIA National Championships and they have earned the NAIA Scholar-Team Award the past two years. They are preseason ranked No. 13 in the country this fall.
"We want to keep the momentum going," stated head coach Elvin King, who is in his 31st season at Cedarville. "We graduated four of our top five runners from last year, but we have some talented newcomers with whom I think can quickly adjust to the collegiate level."
The top returnee is senior Kelly Reitz. She has completed three seasons in the Lady Jacket track & field program, but 1998 was her first in cross country. She was the team's #4 runner with a low time of 19:16 in the 5,000 meters. Reitz earned NAIA and NCCAA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors.
Two juniors, Sarah Pollock and Corrie Grigorenko, are also returning varsity runners and join Reitz as team captains. Pollock ran in all ten meets last fall and was among the team's top seven finishers nine times. Her best effort was 19:49. Grigorenko was the squad's sixth finisher twice and the seventh to cross the finish line five times with a season-low 20:23 for the 5K.
 |
| Sarah Pollock |
Four others have varsity meet experience. The quartet includes juniors Jenny Heidenreich and Kristen Nichols, as well as sophomores Jenni Gerber and Wendy Somers.
Eight newcomers hope to experience the tradition that has developed in Lady Jacket cross country. Last year, Cedarville was ranked as high as 12th in the NAIA poll and finished 15th in the national meet. Their 3.73 combined team grade point average was higher than all other teams at the NAIA Championships resulting in a repeat performance as the Scholar-Team Award winner. The Jackets placed third at the NCCAA Nationals and second in the American Mideast Conference.
Julia Roberts is new to the program as a sophomore. Incoming freshmen who hope to contribute are Julia DeHart, Andrea Grigorenko, Heather Jenkins, Erin Nehus, Katie Rulapaugh, Joy Shakelton, and Heidi Wright.
Despite many new faces, King expects a similar team to what he has had. "The unknown is a bit exciting and we expect to have more depth than in recent years. The upperclassmen have trained well and they will provide good leadership."
Nine meets are on the schedule and three of those are at home. Cedarville will host the Friendship Invitational on September 25, the American Mideast Conference Championship on November 6, and the NCCAA Nationals on November 13.