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News
MVNU Cross Country Teams Ready to Race
into New Year
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (9-10-2010) - The Mount
Vernon Nazarene University men’s and women’s
cross country teams will get their 2010
seasons under way on September 11 when the
two teams compete in the Walsh University
Invitational.
After having its first class of four-year
runners finish up last season in the
program’s fourth year back after a 27-year
hiatus, coach Chip Wilson knows that both of
his teams will be a lot different than they
were a year ago.
"Losing seniors to graduation is never an
easy thing to handle for any coach,
especially when a group of seniors impacted
the team in such a positive way like my six
seniors did last year,” said Wilson, who is
entering his fifth season leading the teams.
"However, this is the natural course of
college athletics and though it saddens me
to see runners move on from the team it is
an equally exciting feeling to welcome new
faces to our running program. Looking
forward to a new season in 2010 has been an
enjoyable feeling because we are proud to
welcome six freshmen to the teams along with
a few new faces from our MVNU campus
community.”
The women’s team returns only four runners
from last year’s squad that finished 10th
out of 11 teams at the American Mideast
Conference Meet and 13th out of 19 teams at
the National Christian College Athletic
Association National Meet, but the four
returners were basically in the top six last
year. Sophomore Jessica Brant led the Lady
Cougars when healthy last year and set a new
school record with a 19:53 at the Shawnee
State University Invitational. Junior
Caitlin Campbell (21:11) and sophomores
Melissa Keiser (22:16) and Bethany Parks
(23:27) round out the returners.
"Jessica had a solid freshman season last
year,” said Wilson. "Even though she dealt
with a hamstring injury toward the middle of
the year, she came back strong and finished
well for us. I am anxious to see her efforts
this year feeling her best. Caitlin has been
very consistent in her first two seasons,
and her leadership skills have been very
well received by the girls. She is a strong
runner who is ready for a breakout season.
Melissa and Bethany are both capable of
running solid times, and they have already
shown this season that they will be willing
to work for the team. I think these two will
really step things up a notch this year.”
Meanwhile, MVNU has added speed and depth
with the addition of freshman Abby Spitler,
who should compete right away with Brant at
the front of the pack. Freshman Alex
Reasoner should also make an immediate
impact, while sophomore Amy Chappell and
freshman Katie Worthington round out the
MVNU roster.
"Abby is already off to a great start and
with her talent this looks to be a memorable
first season as a college runner,” said
coach Chip Wilson. I am very impressed with
Alex’s work ethic. She is an exciting runner
to watch and she has the potential to make a
major impact in her first college season.
Katie is a very determined runner who I know
will improve throughout the season. Amy is
just beginning to scratch the surface of
what she could do as a runner. She has a lot
of natural ability and I think as the season
progresses we will see a dramatic
improvement in her times.”
Like the women’s team, the MVNU men’s cross
country team will have many new faces after
finishing seventh out of 10 teams at the AMC
Meet and ninth out of 23 teams at the NCCAA
National Meet. Junior Nate Winters (26:55)
will look to lead the pack of five returning
runners for the Cougars along with senior
David Clark (30:44). Sophomores Anthony Lee
(28:51), Jacob Pessia (32:21), and Mark
Rednour (32:06) are also back with a year of
collegiate experience under their belts.
"Nate has trained well and is ready for a
breakout season,” said Wilson. "Even though
he is involved in many different areas of
campus life, he is a skilled runner and
works hard. We will look to him for
leadership on and off the course. David is
also a great leader who has shown drastic
improvements since joining the team in 2007.
He has transformed into a major part of the
men’s team and he is now ready to have his
best season yet. Our sophomore group will
play a much larger role on the team than
they did last year. They are off to a good
start and I look to see improvements from
all three of them.”
The Cougars will also have five new faces
with a trio of talented freshmen in Jace
Wolford, Sebastian Rue, and Mitch McKenzie
along with senior Chaz Rice and junior Kevin
Poast. Wolford, Rue, and McKenzie come with
high school accolades, while Rice rejoins
the team after a two-year absence. He was
the No. 2 runner on the team back in 2007 as
a freshman. Poast will also join the team
for his first year as a college runner.
"We are fortunate to be adding such a solid
group of freshmen guys,” said Wilson. "It is
always an adjustment to go from a 5K to an
8K, but these three have shown me that they
are up to the challenge. I am looking for
these three to step up this year and play a
major role in our team scoring. Chaz is
adjusting to the running schedule once
again, and I will be looking for great
improvements from him as well as his
leadership. Kevin is off to a great start
and from what I see in practice he is a
strong runner who will surprise himself if
he continues to work hard.”
The teams will compete in five
regular-season events this year starting
with the Walsh Invitational. The schedule
also includes the Otterbein College
Invitational, the All-Ohio Invitational
hosted by Cedarville University, the
Wilmington College Invitational, and the
Aquinas (Mich.) College Invitational. The
teams will also take part in the AMC Meet at
Houghton (N.Y.) College and the NCCAA
National Meet hosted by Cedarville.
"Both teams are very young this season, but
our talent continues to increase each year
and I believe this will be a fun season that
we can build on for the future,” said
Wilson.
Cougars' 2010
schedule:
http://www.mvnu.edu/sports/nazcc/news/results_m.asp
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