WALLA WALLA, Wash. – With a new season looming, the Whitman College men’s and women’s cross country teams are both poised to take a run at the upper half of the Northwest Conference rankings.
On the women’s side, Whitman returns five of its top six finishers from last year’s conference championship race, where the Missionaries placed sixth in the team scoring – but just 11 points out of the third spot.
"If our women’s team develops as we hope, we could place in the top three at conference and in the top four or five at regionals," third-year coach Malcolm Dunn says.
The Missionary men’s squad also returns five of its top six from the 2006 conference finals, where it also placed a strong sixth. Whitman missed fifth by a meager five points and fourth by 17 points.
"Our men’s team in particular has had an infusion of good talent in the freshman class," Dunn says. "There’s no question we could place a few spots higher in conference and move up at regionals as well."
Both Whitman squads make their debut this Saturday, Sept. 1, when they host the annual Whitman Invitational at Ft. Walla Walla Park. The women’s 4,000-meter race starts at 10:45 a.m., followed by the men’s 6,000-meter race at 11:15 a.m.
To help runners ease into the season, both races feature shorter distances than the collegiate standard – 6,000 meters for the women and 8,000 meters for the men.
For Saturday’s invite, Dunn expects runners from six other schools, including NWC rivals Whitworth and George Fox universities. "The scoring could be fairly close between the three conference schools," Dunn says. "We battled back and forth with Whitworth last season, and George Fox was just a step ahead of us."
Lewis-Clark State, which is ranked nationally in both the men’s and women’s NAIA preseason polls, should set the standard in Saturday’s races.
Others schools in the field are Northwest Nazarene (NCAA Div. II) and Montana’s University of Great Falls (NAIA), as well as Clackamas Community College.
One year after earning NCAA Div. III West Region honors, sophomores Sara McCune, Yasmeen Colis and Michela Corcorran are back to lead the Missionary women’s squad.
"All three ran last week’s time trial with about the same times as a year ago, but I think they are starting the season with a much better endurance base," Dunn said. "Our top three did a nice job this summer getting themselves ready to race."
McCune also earned All-NWC honors last fall by placing 14th at the conference meet, which she followed by placing 21st two weeks later at regionals. "Sara has been healthy and looks strong to start the season," Dunn says. "She had our best performance at the time trial."
Both Colis and Corcorran are "just a little banged up with injuries to start the season," Dunn says. "We’re hopeful those injuries are minor enough that Yasmeen and Michela can work through them and not have their seasons impacted overall."
Colis overcame a few nagging injuries last fall to place 19th at conference – a placing she repeated at regionals in posting Whitman’s best effort there. Corcorran capped her first season by placing 20th at conference and 28th at regionals.
Lisa Taylor, this fall’s senior captain, has shown marked improvement over the past year, Dunn says. Running her first college season last fall as a junior, Taylor placed 40th at the conference meet and 48th at regionals.
"Lisa comes into her second season in much better condition," Dunn says. "She ran with our top three at the time trial and looked much more comfortable than a year ago at this time. Our hope is that she can run with our top three throughout the season."
The only returning senior on the women’s squad, Taylor is a natural as team captain, Dunn says. "Lisa provides a lot of leadership and helps with the team building. She’s a strong person and a great example and resource for the younger runners. She knows what Whitman is all about."
Rachel Carroll, the only other senior on the team, is running her first season of competitive cross country – at any level. "Rachel she loves running, has a good work ethic and enjoys being part of the team."
With no juniors on the roster, Dunn looks to three more returning sophomores and a quartet of first-year runners to fill out the team scoring. Occupying that second tier of sophomores are Heather O’Moore, Amy Chapman and Emily Rodriguez.
"Amy was in our top seven last year but is nursing a hip flexor problem at the moment," Dunn says. "We’re hopeful she can work her way through that. Heather was also in our top seven last fall, and then she spent last spring with the cycling team. I think that helped her strength."
Rodriguez, who ran on a par with O’Moore and Chapman at the recent time trial, is "worlds ahead of where she was at this time last year," Dunn says. "She started last season about a minute behind our second tier of runners, and while she moved up later in the season, she never really broke into our top seven. Emily put in some good running this past spring and summer, and she’s gotten a lot stronger."
Based on the time trial results, Chelsea Momany (Spokane, Wash.; Lewis & Clark HS, Spokane, Wash.) and Janna Rozar (Whitefish, Mont.; Whitefish HS) are the best of the first-year runners with Lydia Ngai (Bellevue, Wash.; Newport HS) not too far behind. "You never know how results from the time trial (3,000 meters) will translate into 6,000-meter races," Dunn says. "That’s always a question for the first-year women."
"What we do know," he adds, "is that Chelsea comes from a Nordic ski background, so she probably has a lot of strength to utilize. Janna also seems to be the kind of runner who will get better at the longer distances, and Lydia comes from the same high school as Michela Corcorran, where the two of them ran comparable times."
"There’s a chance that Chelsea, Janna and Lydia could be running right there with our second group of sophomores," Dunn says. "We’ll just have to see what transpires over the next few weeks." Kayla Chory (Manhattan Beach, Calif.; Mira Costa HS) and Natalie Fowler (Bellevue, Wash.; Bellevue HS) round out the first-year class.
"It would be great to qualify runners for nationals this year, and I think we can do that on the women’s side, either as a team or with one or two individuals," Dunn says. "We came close to qualifying a few individuals last season at regionals, and with our team getting stronger this fall, we have a shot at qualifying a full team this year."
The top two teams at regionals gain automatic berths at nationals, and the next three teams at regionals are considered for at-large berths to nationals. The west region sent three teams to nationals last fall, and Dunn anticipates that "we’ll get three again this year and maybe four."
Brian Woods, a senior captain who placed 20th at the NWC championships last November, is the top returning talent for the Missionary men’s team. He also placed a team-best 23rd at the 2005 conference meet.
"Brian had a good summer of training, and he looks good to start the season," Dunn says. "He normally runs his best times late in the season, which is the way to do it."
Woods logged the third-best time at last week’s 3,000-meter time trial, finishing about a second behind junior Ian Bell and seven seconds behind freshman Colin Livingston (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Lake City HS) .
"It’s great to have Ian back," Dunn says. "He studied off campus last fall and missed his sophomore season, but right now he looks very strong. Ian should run in our top five."
Livingston is part of a talented freshman class that also includes standouts Sam Hennessey (Port Angeles, Wash.; Port Angeles HS) and Daniel Luecke (Olympia, Wash.; Olympia HS) . "Colin ran our fastest time trial in at least three years," Dunn said. "There is a distinct possibility that we could have a couple of freshmen pushing Brian at the front of our pack."
The three freshmen, along with Woods, Bell and returning sophomore Matthew Kelly, all finished with times under 9:40 at the team time trial. "We only had four runners beat that time a year ago," Dunn says. "There’s no question we have more depth on the men’s team. I can’t say that we’re going to have anyone place 9th at the conference championships, which is what Sam Clark did last year as a senior, but we have enough talent to score better as a team."
Kelly was the best of Whitman’s freshmen a year ago. He had the third-best Missionary finish at conference, placing 34th overall. "Matt was one of our top runners as a freshman and I’m sure he’ll be in the mix again this season," Dunn says.
The list of returnees also includes Tim Marrinan and Eli Asch, two more senior captains, and junior Nick Littman.
Marrinan finished last season with a flurry, running fourth for Whitman at both the conference and regional meets. "The hope is that Tim will continue the improvement he showed at the end of last season. His last three races were great."
"Eli had a much better summer of training, but he banged up his knee a few weeks ago while working at a summer camp," Dunn says. "That cost him a couple weeks of training, and now he has issues with his other leg after compensating for his bad knee. It’ll be interesting to see how Eli is able to come back from that injury. But regardless of how he runs, Eli is a very dynamic force on our team. He is inspiring and charismatic, so it’s great to have him as one of our captains."
Littman, who had Whitman’s third-best race at regionals, also had a "rough summer with a knee injury, and he’s had to take some time off," Dunn says. "He’s just now getting back into form, and I anticipate he’ll get stronger as the season goes along."
Curtis Reid, a sophomore, is back after showing promise a year ago, when he ran sixth for Whitman at conference and regionals. Reid, who led one of Whitman’s recent outdoor trips for first-year students, missed "some of our early training, so he probably doesn’t have his running legs yet. He’s similar to Nick in that he’s probably a few weeks away from being in his best form."
Robert Marcotte, a senior, is the last of the returning corps. "Robert is coming in faster than he has before, but he’s also looking ahead to the Nordic ski season," Dunn says. "He helps our running depth, and I'm sure he's excited about how his cross country running will set him up for another great ski season."
Marty Skeels, a junior academically, is running his first season for cross country. "Marty made a commitment to train this past summer, and he’s a naturally gifted runner. He’s not where he wants to be with his running, but because of his raw genetic talent, he should come along pretty quickly."
John Callow (La Canada, Calif.; Oakley School) , another member of the freshman class, also adds a shot of athletic talent to the team. "John doesn’t have a big background in cross country, but he’s a well-rounded athlete who played lacrosse and was a wrestler," Dunn says. "He brings an athletic mindset to our cross country program, and it’ll be interesting to see what real distance training will do for him."
Arnaud Sillis (Clackamas, Ore.; Oregon Episcopal School) and Sam Nortz (Clyde Hill, Wash.; International School), two more freshmen, also have limited cross country backgrounds and are focused on training.
"Overall, the future looks very bright for our men’s team," Dunn says. "The men are going to have a good season."