Cross Country: Nationally-Ranked Women, Determined Men Hosting Whitman Invite

WALLA WALLA, Wash. – His nationally-ranked women’s team is stronger than ever, and his men’s squad is determined to overcome the loss of three key seniors to graduation.

With those thoughts in mind, Malcolm Dunn embarks on his fourth season at the helm of the Whitman College cross country teams, and he has a whopping 35 runners in tow.

The season gets started Saturday with the annual Whitman Invitational at Ft. Walla Walla Park. Whitman plays host to seven other schools with races that start at 10:40 a.m. for the women (4,000 meters) and 11:20 a.m. for the men (6,000 meters).

"What's nice about our home meet this year is that we have more teams in the field, and that includes a few more Northwest Conference schools," Dunn says. "We're also pleased that Lewis-Clark State, which holds NAIA national rankings, is back with its teams."

Whitworth, Pacific Lutheran, Linfield and Pacific are the NWC schools with teams entered in Saturday's event. Montana's University of Great Falls and Oregon's Clackamas Community College round out the field.

For a listing of all individual entries (bib numbers included), please check the following links: Women, Men.

Later in the season, Whitman also plays host to the NWC Championship Meet, which is set for Saturday, Nov. 1, at Veterans Memorial Golf Course.

Whitman Women: Ranked No. 2 in West Region

The Missionary women's team, which starts the season with 20 runners on board, is both talented and deep. In NCAA Div. III preseason polls, Whitman is ranked No. 2 regionally and No. 24 on the national stage.

"Our women's team is definitely stronger than it was a year ago," Dunn says. "The returning runners have another year of racing experience and training behind them, and we have runners in the first-year class who should help us."

The lofty preseason rankings are "a little daunting," Dunn admits. "With our talent and depth, though, I think those rankings are justified, and I think our women are up to the task of making those rankings stick in the weeks ahead. It will be a great season for us if we can qualify for nationals and finish among the top 25 teams in the country."

The Whitman women emerged as a regional force during the regular season last fall, winning three races and placing second in two others. Hampered by a bad start, they placed fourth at the NWC Championships, and then came within a few points of taking third at the regional championships. All but one of the Missionary runners from those two races is back again this season.

"One of the reasons for our high regional ranking is our depth," Dunn says. "We probably have a dozen runners who have the talent to run in our top seven on any given day. It's exciting from a coaching perspective to know that we may have some tough decisions at the end of the season, when there is a limit to the number of runners we can take to conference and regionals."

Three juniors – Sara McCune, Yasmeen Colis and Michela Corcorran – were Whitman's top runners last fall. All three earned all-region honors, led by Colis and a 16th-place finish. McCune was 17th and Corcorran 18th.

Corcorran led the way at the conference championships, placing 16th to finish one spot in front of Colis. McCune was 21st despite tweaking a knee midway through the race.

"Our top runner among the women could vary from week to week, but Sara starts the season as our No. 1," Dunn says. "She had a very good summer of training, and she seems to have benefited greatly from another year of physical maturity and building her aerobic base. At the same time, Yasmeen has a tendency to come on strong as the season continues. The two of them should be our front runners."

Corcorran is nursing an injury to start the season. "Michela is coming along nicely right now, so I'm optimistic that she'll be ready to race within a couple of weeks," Dunn says.

Kristen Ballinger, a sophomore transfer from Amherst, is the best of the newcomers. "We feel very fortunate to have added a runner as talented as Kristen," Dunn says. "She went to high school in Wenatchee and wanted to come back to the West."

The Amherst women won last fall's NCAA Div. III national championship and are ranked No. 1 to start this season. Ballinger didn't run with the top seven Amherst runners at nationals last year, but she came back in the spring to earn All-American honors in track, placing sixth in the 800 meters at the national championships.

"With the addition of more miles to her training program, there's no reason why Kristen shouldn't run in our top three or four," Dunn says.

Three more juniors -- Heather O'Moore, Emily Rodriguez and Amy Chapman – and sophomore Chelsea Momany return as strong contenders to hold their spots on Whitman's conference and regional teams.

Alex Pogue, one of the few seniors on the roster, is also back after missing last season while studying off campus. Pogue is sharing captain duties this fall with McCune and also figures in the competitive mix for Whitman's top 10.

Kira Peterson (Two Harbors, Minn.), Sara Levy (Shoreline, Wash.) and Jennifer Farley (Toppenish, Wash.) are first-year runners who might challenge for one of those top 10 spots. Other possibilities include sophomore and Kayla Chory and two more first-year runners, Hannelore Ohaus (South Dartmouth, Mass.) and Kelly Jensen (Kirkland, Wash.). 

Natalie Fowler, a sophomore, is bouncing back from health issues, and seniors Rachel Patterson and Rachel Stein add more experience. Other first-year hopefuls are Hayley Falk (Flintridge, Calif.) and Heather Smith (Sequim, Wash.).

"In addition to being faster and deeper than it was a year ago, our women's team remains a very tight-knit group," Dunn says. "They started to come together as a team last fall, and this year I anticipate that team unity will translate into even stronger performance. There were a few races in particular where our teamwork was excellent and helped produce very good results. I think they are ready to build on that experience this year."

Whitman Men: Overcoming Graduation Losses

Despite the graduation of three top runners, the Whitman men's team should be "somewhat stronger than it was a year ago," Dunn says.

The Missionaries, who finished sixth at each of the last two conference championship meets, have 15 runners on the 2008 roster. Look for senior captains Nick Littman and Ian Bell, along with junior Matt Kelly, to lead the way. "I'm confident we can at least maintain our place in the conference and region, even if we are rebuilding just a little bit," Dunn says.

Kelly, who ran second for Whitman at the 2007 regional race, is the runner most likely to challenge for all-conference and all-region honors this fall, Dunn says. "Matt struggled with his training a little bit last year, and with converting that training into racing, but he comes into this season with a spring and summer of really smart training under his belt. With his additional year of physical and mental maturity, I think he has a shot at being not only our top runner, but also an all-conference and all-region runner."

Littman and Bell start the season "as strong or stronger than they have in the past," Dunn says. "I look forward to seeing what they can do as we get further into the season at the longer 8,000-meter distance. That's when their strength as runners should start to show."

Dunn also has high hopes for returning sophomores Daniel Luecke, Sam Hennessey and John Callow. "Those three really dedicated themselves to a good training program this summer. They are much better runners than they were at the start of last season. I'm thrilled with their fitness level this fall. It demonstrates their commitment and dedication to both the program and to each other."

Curtis Reid, a junior, is the most likely candidate to round out Whitman's top seven. "It's clear that Curtis did more training this past summer, and it will be good to see him come into his own as a varsity runner. He's been on the bubble the last few years and struggled with injuries late in the season. With the amount of training he has done, I think he'll avoid those injuries and give some quality depth to our team."

Terrence Reid, a junior running his second season of cross country, is another probable contributor, Dunn says. "Terrence helped with our team scoring at times last fall, and he could again this season. It's clear that he also put in some training miles over the summer."

Dunn hopes to see contributions as well from one or more of four freshmen – Yonas Fikak (Everett, Wash.), Erick Aguayo (Miami, Fla.), Seth Smith (Port Angeles, Wash.) and Brenden Boyer (Northbrook, Ill.).

"Yonas and Erick might have the most potential to make an immediate impact this fall, but all four of those guys could make a big jump as they transition from high school to college. It would be nice to see it happen this season, but the realist in me expects to see better results in the future as they buy into the program and put in the necessary hard work."

Filling out the men's roster are freshman Schuyler Jorgensen and two more athletes running their first season of cross country, sophomore Joe Wheeler and senior Seth Zippel. Both Wheeler and Zippel are battling injuries to start the season.

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CONTACT: Dave Holden
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
509 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu