WALLA WALLA, Wash. – A hearty turnout of 32 runners was on hand as first-year Whitman College cross country coach Malcolm Dunn held his first workouts this week.
Dunn, a veteran of several college and high school coaching stints, will send 17 men and 15 women into the season-opening fray of competition this Saturday, Sept. 3, when the annual Whitman Invitational takes place at Ft. Walla Walla Park.
Dunn sees the most depth on the men's side of his roster, where he expects at least 10 runners to vie for the top seven spots. Junior Sam Clark and sophomore Brian Woods appear to be the top returnees, although juniors Adam Kopet and Eliot Brian and sophomores Eli Asch and Kevin Van Meter also return with solid abilities and experience.
Talented roster additions include freshmen Aaron Vytlacil and Jake Kinstler. Other first-year runners with an inside track on the top spots are Ian Bell, Nick Littman and John Klein. Sophomore Tim Marrinan and senior Zach Britton, each of whom is running college cross country for the first time, also show signs of cracking Whitman's top 10.
Based on her high school times, first-year runner Kate Ceronsky might well move into the top spot on the Whitman women's team. Senior Laura Valaas, Whitman's best returning runner, placed 32nd at the Northwest Conference championships last fall. Later in the academic year, Valaas earned NCAA All-American honors in nordic skiing and helped Whitman win a national title in road cycling.
Other experienced runners on the women's side are junior Caitlin Kearney and seniors Kat Magid and Sarah McConnell. Both Magid and McConnell missed last season while on foreign study. Mia Huth, another of the first-year runners, enjoyed a good high school career but is still bouncing back from knee surgery in February.
After Saturday's Whitman Invitational, the Missionaries will run in four additional events prior to the NWC Championships in late October.