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Season Preview: Cross Country Teams Have Improvement on Their Lips

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 - page 2
 

Women’s Cross Country Looks to Continue Climb

Although the women’s cross country team hasn’t finished in the top half of the Centennial Conference since 2005, this is shaping up to be a year in which the Mules make their move.

Muhlenberg has improved at the CC race from eighth in 2008 to seventh in 2009 to sixth last year. Six of the top seven runners return from the 2010 squad, and they are joined by a talented freshman class.

Unlike the men’s team, the women return their “top guns” in sophomore Nicki CroninSamantha Mayden. Cronin was the team’s top finisher at the CC Championships, coming in 17th, while Mayden placed 27th at the NCAA Regional.

Seniors Melissa Ugelow and Ashley Greenberg, junior Erica Bash and sophomore Ramzy Burns round out the returning varsity runners.

So how did the Mules prepare for the 2011 season? Senior Kimberlee Yalango gives some insight in today’s MuhlBox. Click the logo below to read more!

MuhlBox


Things are getting a little hairy for the Muhlenberg men’s cross country team.

Last fall, William Lowrey began growing a moustache before

William Lowrey, Andrew Henry
Lowrey (left) and Henry with their Mule-staches.
the Centennial Conference championship meet and kept it through the track and field seasons. This year, Andrew Henry, who is serving as a team captain along with Lowrey, showed up with a similarly styled stache.

“It’s just a goofy little thing that we do,” said Lowrey, who is currently sporting a full beard. “You gotta be crazy to run cross country. It’s a fun sport, but you put your body through a lot. It takes a little crazy.”

It might sound a little crazy to say that the Mules – who open up Friday at Lehigh – are hoping to improve on last year’s finishes of sixth place at the CC Championships and ninth at the NCAA Mideast Regional. After all, they graduated their top two finishers from the CC meet, one of whom was a two-time NCAA qualifier.

But having a young team – only three team members have earned more than one varsity letter – can have its advantages over an experienced team with high hopes.

“Last year we kind of had the mindset where everyone had

Nate Crossette
Crossette posted his best 8K time of last season at the NCAA Mideast Regional.
qualifying for nationals on their mind,” said Henry. “As the season went on, we got down on ourselves. This year we’re going in with no expectations. We’re going to just keep working hard and see what happens.”

“It’s definitely a different year,” agreed Lowrey. “We’re hoping to surprise some people. If we run as a pack, I think we can actually do better than last year. Everyone’s pretty excited.”

There is no clear-cut favorite to take over as Muhlenberg’s No. 1 runner. In the Mules’ six races last year (not including one in which the team split in half), the top non-senior finisher was Lowrey three times, Brendan Smith (now a junior) twice and Bobby McGetrick (now a sophomore) once. Junior Nate Crossette and sophomore Charlie Kline weren’t far behind them.

“We don’t have a top gun,” said Henry. “We have 10 guys shooting to be No. 1 and any of them could be in any race. We’re hoping to have our top five have a better average at regionals than last year.”

Added to the mix are eight freshmen what both Henry and Lowrey called the biggest and most talented freshman class in their four years at Muhlenberg.

Despite the youth and relative inexperience on their team, the Mules were ranked 10th in the Mideast Region in the preseason poll. “We were a little surprised,” said Lowrey. “But we definitely feel we belong there, and it’s something we’re shooting for.”