WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- A solid group of returning veterans, led by Braden Burkholder and Ariel Andrews, will lead the charge this fall for the men's and women's cross country teams at Whitman College.
Both Missionary squads placed sixth among nine schools in last year's Northwest Conference championships. Whitman's top four men, as well as three of its top four women, return this fall.
Burkholder, now a junior, placed 21st in last year's championships in a season-best time of 26 minutes, 32.50 seconds for the 8,000 meters. He also had Whitman's top finish two years ago as a freshman.
Andrews, a senior, placed 21st in the women's conference finals last fall. Her time for the 5,000 meters was 19:28.21, which came within a few seconds of her season-best time.
Others returning for the Missionary women this year are sophomore Sierra Witnov and juniors Jeanne Knechtges and Flo Larkin.
Witnov had Whitman's third-best finish in the conference championships, placing 36th in 20:02.90. Knechtges was fourth among the Missionary women, finishing 49th in 20:39.03. Larkin was timed in 22:01.37, placing 66th.
The men's roster, in addition to Burkholder, returns six sophomores, each of whom placed among Whitman's top eight in last fall's conference finals.
Conor Flynn, Patrick Cade and Mike Orcutt finished 32nd, 41st and 44th, respectively, in times of 27:31.20, 27:54.71 and 28:01.02. Also back are James Voelckers, who placed 47th in 28:08.30, and Ryan Choi, who was 56th in 28:46.38.
The men's squad welcomes back senior Ryan Gold, who did not run last season. Gold had Whitman's fourth-best time at the conference championships two years ago.
Others on the men's roster are juniors Chris Brewer and Adam Woodard and sophomores Miles Barrett and Jeremy Cohen. All four are running their first season of collegiate cross country.
The Whitman women's roster includes two more runners with collegiate experience. Mary Southwick, running her fourth season, is off to a late start because of academic commitments, but she hopes to begin competitive racing by early October. Back for her second season is sophomore Maureen FitzMaurice.
Jenny Spears, who played varsity soccer last fall in her first year at Whitman, is running her first season of cross country. Other newcomers to the team are junior Erin Pollock and first-year students Katherine Magid, Sarah McConnell and Harmony Paulsen.
Carol Feezell, beginning her sixth season as head coach, takes the Missionaries to their first meet later this week in the Portland area. The Lewis & Clark Invitational is set for Saturday, Sept. 14, at McIver Park in Estacada.
Whitman's schedule also includes a Sept. 28 date at the Big Cross Invitational, an annual event near the Tri-City Airport. The Northwest Conference championships are set for Nov. 2 in the Tacoma, Wash., area.