The Observer, October 6, 2006
Volume XXXIX, Issue 6
Cross Country teams continue streaks at Loyola
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The men's soccer team is not the only team on campus tearing up the competition. The women's cross country team has now won three meets in a row after winning the 34th annual Loyala University-Chicago Sean Earl Invitational last Saturday.
Once again, Esther Erb paced the women's team with a time of 18:05, good for second place overall. Also placing for the Spartans were sophomore Kristen Bowhers (fourth at 18:37), sophomore Britta Kumley (20th, 19:03), and senior Karyn Wheeler (21st, 19:05).
The women had high expectations coming into the season, but even they have been a little surprised by this extended run of success.
"Given how well our team performed during preseason, I figured we would win smaller meets we went to, but I never expected us to win Chicago," Bowhers said. "That's a pretty big meet. To say the least I was really excited, and I definitely think after this past meet our team has exceeded expectations."
Wheeler echoed Bowhers' sentiments regarding winning such a competitive event.
"Because there were 33 teams in the race, I never expected us to be able to win it," she said. "I was really excited to hear Nebraska Wesleyan was ranked 20th in the country because we beat them without our number three runner, and the score wasn't even close."
The ones who are really surprised are opposing schools, according to Erb.
"Everyone put in the miles this summer, and we all knew that this season would be different, but it is still unexpected with respect to other teams," she said. "I don't think they ever really saw us coming."
With the string of success, the team's ranking continues to climb higher. They entered the Loyola meet ranked 29th and left it ranked 20th. The women are excited about earning some national recognition, but they also realize that a ranking does not guarantee future success.
"Rankings don't really mean anything, but it does have a confidence factor which comes along with it," Erb said. "We can't rely on that to pull us through. We need to stay grounded, but it is nice to know that other people think we're good too."
"The better we do and the more our rankings climb, the more we think about it," Wheeler said. "All the girls have started paying attention to the rankings, checking out the competition, and talking a lot about how much we want to move up. Still, we all know the rankings are really just coaches' opinions and making it to the National meet is still going to take a lot of work."
The women hope to carry the momentum into the All-Ohio Championship, which takes place tomorrow at Ohio Wesleyan. Last year, the women finished fourth in the event, and they are hoping to improve upon that mark this year.
"This Friday will be a good opportunity to run against Ohio Northern and a few other schools in Ohio that have been good in the past," said Stephanie Nothelle, who hopes to return to action tomorrow after missing last week with an ankle injury. "It's also a great chance to run a hilly course. We're all looking forward to seeing what we can do."
The men's team also had a solid performance in the tournament, finishing second to 10th-ranked Nebraska Wesleyan. The men have their own streak, too, as they have now finished second in three consecutive meets.
Mac Taylor said the streak does not have the team stressing over trying to win a tournament.
"Finishing first is always good, but we always just try to run as hard as we can and as fast as we can," he said. "W;here we finish will just sort itself out."
Dominic Smith had the team's best time (26:00) and finished fifth overall. Stephen Hrinda was right behind him, finishing sixth at 26:01. Mike Petro (26:27) and Ryan Gjoraas (26:30) also were in the top 25 for Case, finishing 23rd and 24th, respectively.
Like the women, the men are now looking forward to the All-Ohio Championship tomorrow. This is one of the biggest meets of the season, as top teams from the entire state, ranging from Division I to Division III schools, participate in the event. Mount Union is one school that will be there, and after meeting the Purple Raiders in previous races and finishing just behind them, the Spartans are hoping to get the upper hand this time around.
"We've finished second to them already," Taylor said. "We want to run as well as we can, and if we see a purple jersey, then we should be ahead of that purple jersey."
