WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Whitman College cross country coach Carol Feezell expects to see as many three dozen runners, nearly half of them freshmen, trot into her first practice session late this month.
And because her first practice on Monday, Aug. 31, precedes Whitman's first meet by little more than a week, Feezell hopes to see that most of her runners have stayed in shape during the summer months.
"We stressed to everyone last May that summer training was very important," she said. "In many cases, it could make the difference as to who travels to the early season meets and who stays home."
The Missionaries will open their season Saturday, Sept. 5, in the Spokane Harrier Classic. It is the first of eight meets for Whitman prior to the Northwest Conference championships, which are slated for Saturday, Oct. 31, at Ft. Steilacoom Park in Tacoma, Wash. The season slate also includes the annual Whitman Invitational, which is set for Saturday, Sept. 26, at Ft. Walla Walla Park.
Whitman returns its most experience and talent on the women's side. Heather Koertje, a sophomore from Walla Walla High School, had an immediate impact last fall as a freshman, placing 17th in the Northwest Conference championships in a season-best time of 19 minutes, 43 seconds for the 5,000 meters. Faye Hutchison, a senior from Snohomish, Wash., ran well in a number of races, placing eighth in the Bear Fete Invitational in a season-best time of 19:33.5
"Of the women returning, Faye and Heather should be the leaders," Feezell said. "Kitty Rasmussen, Elisa Bobnes and Taylor Dale also have the experience to make the traveling team, but so much depends on who has been training over the summer." Both Rasmussen (jr., Seattle, Wash.) and Dale (jr., Crested Butte, Colo.) came within 10 to 15 seconds of breaking the 20-minute barrier last fall, while Bobnes (jr., McMinnville, Ore.) dropped her best time to 20:56 by late in the season.
"Other than our top five, the rest of the women's traveling team is really up in the air," Feezell said. She plans to take eight women to meets requiring an overnight stay and 10 women to meets closer to home.
"It's going to be competitive among the women and disappointing for a few who might be very close," Feezell said. "There will be chances throughout the season to make the traveling team, so the team that travels the first weekend will not be set in stone."
Other women returning from last year are Caroline Christy (jr., Bellevue, Wash.), Gen Hartman (so., Spokane, Wash.), Amanda Havens (jr., Olympia, Wash.), Carol Morse (jr., Parker, Colo.) and Debbie Randall (so., Georgetown, Maine).
The 11 newcomers on the women's early preseason roster include senior Heather Wright (Clinton, Wash.), junior Megan Hunter (Boulder, Colo.) and sophomore Alison Gillespie (Edmonds, Wash.).
"The three freshmen I know the most about are Alisa Hansen, Dawn Joyce and Beth Bray," Feezell said. "All three are coming to us from strong high school crosss country programs."
Hansen is from Bend, Ore., Joyce is from Alameda, Calif., and Bray is from Chesterfield, Mo. The other five first-year collegians are Piper Foster (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Sarah Koenigsberg (Ashland, Ore.), Sarah Neeri (Spokane, Wash.), Marisa Silver (Tigard, Ore.) and Adriana Vanbianchi (Kingston, Wash.).
"It's hard to make any predictions at this point about the incoming freshmen, other than to say I'm expecting some surprises," Feezell said. "Since I know all of these women want to make the team, I hope they step into the season fit and ready to train for racing."
On the men's side of the ledger, junior Sean Menton (Claremont, Calif.) and sophomore Lars Tysver (Bothell, Wash.) are the strongest of the returning runners. Tysver ran his best 8,000 meters at last fall's Big Cross Invitational, posting a time of 28.23.50. Menton posted a best time of 28.27 in placing 13th at the Whitman Invitational.
"With a good summer of training, Dan Moore (sr., Morrison Creek, Colo.) and Dustin Moon (so., Stanwood, Wash.) should also be close to our leaders," Feezell said. "Kelii Kotubetey (jr., Kailua, Hawaii) took a step up last year and will hopefully continue in that direction. I'm also hoping that Hossein Baghdadi (jr., Portland, Ore.) and David Beegle (so., Spokane, Wash.) will make big strides."
Feezell expects as many as seven freshmen to compete for the traveling spots on the men's team. "I know that two of the freshmen, Jesse Burgess (Walla Walla, Wash.) and Joel Byersdorfer (Issaquah, Wash.), have been training hard all summer."
The other freshmen on the men's preseason roster are Jamin Asay (Keizer, Ore.), Ethan Aumann (Portland, Ore.), Ian Bell (Fairbanks, Alaska), Dean Chuang (Tumwater, Wash.), and Brett Pahler (Saratoga, Calif.).