News Release Date:
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- While the cross country season has yet to evolve past its embryonic stages, new Whitman College coach Scott Shields is gaining clarity on where his 14-man men's roster might be headed this fall.
But ask Shields about his women's roster, hard hit by graduation yet overflowing with 30 runners, and clarity quickly fades into uncertainty.
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| Scott Shields |
The possibilities are more focused for the men's team because the group is anchored by three savvy senior captains and two very talented youngsters, one of them an incoming freshman.
If that core group stays healthy, the Missionary men have a shot at matching or even improving upon their performance from a year ago, when they placed fourth at the Northwest Conference championships.
On the women's side, Whitman graduated four of its top five runners from last year's team, which qualified for the NCAA Division III national championships after coming within a whisker of winning a NWC title.
"Realistically, it will be difficult for the women's team to match or exceed what it did a year ago," Shields admits. "We lost some great runners, but our sophomore and junior classes are full of talent that keeps improving. It's also hard to know where all the first-year women might be a month from now.
"What I do know is that we have a bunch of good young runners, which is great for the future of the program. I've inherited a great group of athletes with phenomenal attitudes. I'm having a blast trying to help them improve and get better."
The season for both Missionary teams gets underway this Saturday, Sept. 4, with the annual Whitman Invitational at Fort Walla Walla Park. Racing gets underway at 10:30 a.m. with the men's 6,000 meters. The women's 4,000 meters will follow.
The field of runners will include three of Whitman's NWC rivals -- Whitworth, Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran.
Shields, a 1991 Whitman graduate who played varsity soccer, returned to the school to coach the women's soccer team for 16 seasons. He made the switch to coaching cross country earlier this year when that program's head position came open.
Sophomore Cory Rand is the top returning runner for the Missionary men's team. He capped his season last fall by placing a team-best 11th at the conference championships, earning a spot on the All-NWC Second Team.
"Cory has looked super strong in our early workouts and team time trial," Shields says. "There's no reason he shouldn't be running first or second for us all season."
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| Cory Rand |
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| Spencer Corwin |
Shields also expects Spencer Corwin, a freshman from Coto de Caza, Calif., to run at the front of the Missionary pack.
"Spencer is a very focused, dedicated runner, and he actually won our 3,000-meter time trial," he says.
"His training regimen is different from what you traditionally see in cross country running. He does a lot of high-intensity running and training. He only ran 10 miles a week this summer, but he was running very hard."
Corwin ran the San Francisco Marathon in late July in 3:04.06, qualifying for the Boston Marathon.
"It will be interesting to see how Spencer's training translates into cross country racing," Shields says. "The standard cross country distance for college men is 8,000 meters, which makes for a very different race compared to a 3,000-meter time trial or a marathon."
Senior captains Sam Hennessey, Daniel Luecke and John Callow are other likely candidates for Whitman's top five.
"All three are super excited about how they feel right now and how they are running to start the season," Shields says. "They are veterans, they know what to expect and they did some good training over the summer.
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| Sam Hennessey |
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| Daniel Luecke |
"It's a great situation when your senior captains are feeling good, mentally and physically, to start the season. That carries over to the entire team."
Hennessey finished third for Whitman, placing 27th overall, at the NWC championships last fall. Luecke ran seventh for the Missionaries (44th overall) while Callow was 10th (54th) in the conference finals.
"The three captains are poised to have their best seasons, which could make a big difference for our team scoring," Shields says.
Sophomore Taylor Mesojednik starts his second season at or near the top of Whitman's second pack of runners.
"Taylor was in our second five for most of last season, and he should be right there again this fall," Shields says. "He didn't get as many miles as he wanted this summer, but he's strong and fit and ready to go."
Others lining up for that second group are freshmen Christopher Farley (Toppenish, Wash.), Michael Jorgensen (Brookline, Mass.) and Taylor Nelson (Austin, Texas).
Farley, whose older sister Jennifer runs on the women's team, ran a "very good race in the time trial," Shields says. "Jorgensen and Nelson show signs of being stronger runners at the longer distances."
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| John Callow |
Junior Brendan Boyer and sophomore Whitney Griggs also figure to run somewhere in Whitman's second five.
Boyer, who ran eighth for Whitman at the NWC championships last fall, is nursing a minor injury to start the season. "Whitney is a little bit ahead of Brendan at this point, but I look for both to run with the second pack."
Michael Barker, a junior from Bainbridge Island, Wash., who is running his first season of cross country, and freshmen Rob Daulton (Boalsburg, Penn.) and Noah Teller (Berkeley, Calif.) round out the men's roster.
"Michael trained with some of the other guys during the summer and has some talent," Shields says.
"Noah and Rob are good runners with great attitudes," Shields says. "They are hard workers who are there for all the right reasons. We love to have those kind of guys because of what they contribute to team unity and morale."
Senior Kristen Ballinger, a two-time All-NWC First-Team runner, is back to lead the Missionary women's squad.
Ballinger has paced Whitman in each of the past two conference championship races, placing fourth overall last fall. She was a sixth two years ago as a sophomore.
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| Kristen Ballinger |
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| Emilie Gilbert |
Her senior campaign is off a rocky start, however, because of a summer illness that kept her from training until mid-August.
"We were very worried about what her fitness level was going to be like when she got back to campus," Shields says.
"But she's such a tough, determined athlete that she wills herself to compete, regardless of how she's feeling or what the distance might be."
Despite her minimal early training, Ballinger finished second among the women in last Saturday's team time trial.
"She's definitely behind where she'd like to be with her training, but as tough as she is, I'm guessing is that she will be bouncing back pretty quickly over the next month."
Sophomore Emilie Gilbert, who won the women's time trial, also has all-conference potential, Shields says.
"Emilie is the most competitive kid on our team," he adds. "She is determined to win and beat people, and she has a strong finish at the end of a race."
Gilbert, who also plays varsity basketball at Whitman, ran sixth for Whitman for much of last season, trailing only Ballinger and members of that fall's star-studded senior class.
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| Sara Levy |
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| Katri Gilbert |
Based on early workouts, other probable runners in the Missionary top five are sophomore Katri Gilbert (Emilie's sister), junior Sara Levy and sophomore Lori Mendelsohn.
Katri Gilbert ran ninth or 10th for Whitman for most of last season and is primed for a stronger second season, Shields says.
"Lori probably ran more miles this summer than anyone on the team; she looks very strong to start the season. Sara suffered a minor injury early last week, so I was surprised when she ran as well as she did in the time trial."
Other returnees fighting for elbow room in Whitman's second five include juniors Kira Peterson, Christine Kiely and Mollee Huisinga, sophomores Lauren Davis and Claire Baron, and senior Janna Rozar.
"That's just a few of the runners in our second group," Shields says. "Our chase pack is absolutely huge at this point, which is very cool."
Jennifer Farley, a junior who placed consistently in Whitman's top 10 last season, missed last Saturday's time trial because of injury and is questionable for this Saturday's Whitman Invitational.
First-year runners showing plenty of potential are Eliza Vistica (Beaverton, Ore.), Skye Pauley (Wenatchee, Wash.), Kari Paustian (Sitka, Alaska), Ellen Banks (Pasadena, Calif.) and Allie Wilson (Maple Valley, Wash.).
Junior transfer Madeleine Maple-Hess, who ran for Loyola Marymount University last season, is a good bet to move up Whitman's pecking order once the longer races get underway, Shields says.
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| Lori Mendelsohn |
Others in the mammoth second group include senior Kayla Chory (co-captain), sophomore Shannon McCarty and first-year runner Alyssa Goard (Pleasanton, Calif.).
"It's impossible to know at this point who might finish in our second five on any given day," Shields says. "To start the season, it's going to depend on who has a good race. It might not settle itself out until later in October."
The rest of the women's roster includes seniors Natalie Fowler (co-captain) and Meesha Last, juniors Kelly Jensen, Alyssa Breetwor, Hayley Falk and Hanne Ohaus, and first-year runners Colleen Bell (St. Louis Park, Minn.), Kate Benjamin (Seattle, Wash.) and Annie Waters (Victory, Idaho).
"The women's roster is large but all of our women are committed to the sport and to the team," Shields says. "Our two captains, Natalie Fowler and Kayla Chory, are doing a great job of working hard, staying positive and setting the tone for everyone."
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CONTACT: Dave
Holden,
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla,
Wash.
holden@whitman.edu; (509) 527-5902
