University of Massachusets Athletics
Cross Country Teams to Rebuild
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Sept. 23, 2002
Despite running in two meets already, the cross country teams are still finding each other as they enter the meat of their schedules.
The women's team opened the year with a fourth-place finish in the New Hampshire Invitational. The men's team also recorded a fourth-place finish in the same meet.
The two teams are just hoping for steady improvement throughout the season, as a host of inexperienced runners will lead the teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships in early November.
Women's Preview
Inexperience is the name of the game for Head Coach Julie Lafreniere, as she welcomes a young squad to fall camp.
?We are definitely a young team,? said Lafreniere. ?We were put in a difficult situation last year, and it really hurt us on the recruiting path. But I'm hoping that some of the youngsters can step up and run the way they are capable of. They'll just have to do it in a hurry.?
Leading the way for the Minutewomen will be seniors Elizabeth Mitchell (Aspen, Conn.) and Julie McGee (Needham, Mass.). Mitchell placed second on the UMass squad and 21st overall at the UNH Invitational and McGee was 28th overall. Lafreniere hopes that the duo can be strong leaders on and off the course.
?Mitchell has been a strong leader during our workouts, and I look for her to continue that,? said Lafreniere. ?McGee is right on her heels, so that is encouraging to have those two fighting for the top spot.
?What we have to be careful with Mitchell is that she tends to get injured. She's been injured the last two years. We need to be careful with her and hope that she stays healthy,? added Lafreniere. ?I'm hoping they can be a pretty good 1-2 punch.?
After the top duo, Lafreniere says that the competition is wide open. Junior Kate Markapoulos (Porter Corners, N.Y.) appears to have solidified a spot in the top seven.
?Kate came out late last fall, and didn't run cross country last year,? said Lafreniere. ?She ran for a great high school program in Saratoga Springs, and could be a strong factor for us. It has taken a while for her to find her niche, since she got a late start.?
A slew of sophomores also appear to make a push for time in the top seven. Alexis Anzelone (Westfield, N.J.) led the Minutewomen at the UNH Invitational with a 20th-place finish. Amanda Dahlberg (Gardner, Mass.) and Loren Donohue (Millbrook, N.Y.) also figure to be in the mix.
?They have the potential, and basically we need them to step it up, and they need to fill in right behind our top two,? commented Lafreniere. ?They are capable of doing that, but they need to make the commitment to run at this level.?
Lafreniere also thinks that Denise DiPaolo (North Bergan, N.J.) can get into the picture as well, but needs to improve.
?I was hoping that Denise was going to have a good summer of running under her belt, because she should be included in that group. She definitely has the potential to help us out and be a factor.
?They need to develop more strength and be a lot tougher mentally,? said Lafreniere. ?That will come with time and maturity.?
Lafreniere is just hoping that the inexperience wears off and the team can be competitive throughout the year.
?We're a very young team that need development. We can't expect them to jump right in and run with the veterans,? said Lafreniere.
Of the newcomers, only Emma Horton (Newburyport, Mass.) looks to contend for a spot in the top seven in the immediate future.
Lafreniere knows this season can't be measured by wins and losses, just by improvement.
?Our attitude seems better this year. We just didn't click last year,? said Lafreniere. ?We have better leadership on this year's team. This year's sophomores are a very tight-knit bunch and are dedicated to the team. This group has a choice to either get tougher and run like they never have before, or they can go the other way. I think this team will take the positive route.?
Men's Preview
Head Coach Ken O'Brien is about in the same boat as his female counterpart.
Relative inexperience, but strong talent.
O'Brien must find a way to mesh the two into a competitive force on the Atlantic 10 Conference cross country scene.
?We were third in the Atlantic 10 last year, and I think that would be a good goal for us to shoot for this year,? said O'Brien. ?Our team last year was fairly senior-laden. We had five seniors that were fairly consistent scorers for us that graduated. We only have one of the top five runners returning, so we are an inexperienced team.?
Leading the way is senior Colin Baughman (Sherrill, N.Y.). Baughman was fifth in the 10,000-meter race at the New England Championships in the track season last spring, showing he has good speed as well.
?Not only does he have good cross country ability, but he has good track speed as well,? said O'Brien. ?We'll be relying heavily on him, not only for his running, but his leadership.?
Senior Dave Hantman also figures to help O'Brien's team considerably this year. Hantman finished eighth in the same 10,000-meter race as Baughman.
?He has shown flashes of brilliance,? said O'Brien. ?He just needs to do it at a consistent level now. He's probably our hardest trainer, so that shows that he wants to win and run well.?
O'Brien believes that the supporting cast behind his two seniors is going to be relatively young.
?These runners were in a position to help out, but were relegated to a backup role,? said O'Brien. ?Now we are going to need them to step up and contribute for us.?
Mike Ahearn (Paxton, Mass.), John Jacobson (Taunton, Mass.), Ed Breen (Stoneham, Mass.) and Ryan Bourque (Fitchburg, Mass.) are some of the runners O'Brien expects to contribute heavily.
?These runners were always in our top 10 last year, but never could crack the top seven,? said O'Brien. ?Now, we need them to and I think they are capable of running good times."
?We've got the numbers and they have two good years of running under their belt, but we are just lacking the experience. That will come with time,? O'Brien added. ?Hopefully by the second half of the season, there is enough talent there to overcome the inexperience.?
O'Brien has a plethora of strong newcomers in Paul Noone (Worcester, Mass.), Jeff Way (Marston Mills, Mass.), Sean Corbett (Highland, N.Y.), Matt Clark (Worcester, Mass.) and Dave McMenamy (Falmouth, Mass.), but doesn't put too much pressure on them.
?They are all coming off strong high school careers, but it is such a different race in college,? said O'Brien. ?They have the skill to be good runners, but I don't push them that hard because they have to get used to the college race.?
O'Brien has created a schedule that will help the team become prepared for the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships. The team is running in several triangular and quadrangulars early in the year to get its feet wet, and then graduate to the major races later in the year.
?This just prepares us for major races later in the year,? said O'Brien. ?We schedule several good teams before the second half of the season when we know more about our team.
?I'm looking forward to coaching this team,? said O'Brien. ?There is more uncertainty in this year's team and more runners that could really contribute. It will be a challenge for me to get all of our runners on the same page. I'm really looking forward to working with this team and learning more about them.?
With the young runners on both squads, the future looks bright for UMass cross country.