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Numbers, quality on
the rise for MC cross country teams
Release Date: September 1, 2006
MONMOUTH, Ill. — At
last fall’s MWC Men’s Cross Country Championship Meet, all five
Monmouth scorers earned all-conference honors for coach Roger
Haynes’ runner-up squad, and four of them return as the Scots will
once again mount a strong challenge to Grinnell for the top spot in
the league.
Leading that list are junior Scott Heiar and senior Kel Bond, who
finished one second apart while placing in the top 10 in the MWC.
They are the second- and third-leading returners in the league.
Junior Aaron Etienne and senior Darin VanNattan also made the
All-MWC squad thanks to their 16th- and 18th-place finishes. They
will enter the season ranked 10th and 12th in the conference,
respectively.
“They all worked really hard over the summer, and as a returning
group, I feel good about what kind of condition they’re in to start
the season,” said Monmouth coach Roger Haynes.
The same can be said for the Scots’ next level of returners, a group
headed by junior Kyle Schierer and sophomore Damon Bautista, who
weren’t far behind MC’s scoring pack at the conference meet. Senior
Tanner Scott is coming off a strong season in track, and also back
for the Scots are senior Ken Stachorek and juniors Adam Rodriguez
and Seth Leitner.
Even without adding a recruit, Haynes has a roster built to meet or
exceed last year’s conference finish, but freshmen Clay Staley
(Illini Bluffs) and Brad Begyn (Rock Island) have also looked good.
Staley is a threat to challenge for the top five after a prep career
that saw him earn All-State honors in the mile.
“He runs a 4:21 mile, and he should make a significant
contribution,” said Haynes.
Rounding out the team’s 13-member squad is sophomore Andrew Kuebrich.
“Grinnell graduated three of their top seven runners, but they’ll be
strong again,” noted Haynes, who said that the Scots are pointing to
the Oct. 28 conference meet and the NCAA regional meet as their big
races of the season. “We’re probably as deep as we’ve been through
the 9-10 guys, but how we do at conference will depend on how our
guys do up front.”
On the women’s side, Haynes is looking for continued improvement
from a program that has not produced a multiple all-conference
performer since Carrie Knauer ran to three straight All-MWC honors
from 1995-97.
That could change this fall with the return of junior Val Daves, who
placed 15th individually last year as Monmouth took seventh as a
team.
“Val races very well and really seems to rise to the occasion in
meets,” said Haynes.
The good news for Haynes is that Daves might not be the team’s top
runner this year. His largest-ever women’s squad includes 15
runners, including 10 newcomers and three scorers from last year’s
conference meet.
The Scots are hoping for their first upper half finish in the MWC
since Knauer’s final season, and they could certainly make a run at
the top five with a solid, experienced nucleus that includes seniors
Kila Cox, Sara Ingersoll, Joni Nelson, Carissa Young and Ashley
Gaul.
“They’re all very fit for this time of year,” Haynes said of his
seniors.
That group should receive a boost from senior Taylor Froeliger, a
first time collegiate runner who has looked good so far; transfer
Danielle Farrell, who was Carl Sandburg College’s No. 1 runner last
fall; and a freshman group headed by Katie Staab (Batavia).
Other freshmen runners include Amy Aghababian (Burlington Central),
Allison Carroll (Solon), Sara Ditzler (Freeport), Briana Flynn
(Pleasant Valley), Heather Janke (Grant) and Whitney Maher
(Limestone), and junior Meghan O’Connell (Nicolet) rounds out the
squad.
“We’ve got a good mix of veterans and quality young people,” said
Haynes. “Our quality through 8-10 runners is good. How we do at
conference will depend a lot on our 3-4-5 runners, and we are
substantially improved there.”
Both teams open the season this Saturday in Pella, Iowa, at the
Central Dutch Invitational.
Men's Cross Country
| Women's Cross
Country
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