[Kutztown Press Release] Kutztown University to host 2007 PSAC Cross Country Championships

[Josh Leiboff]

Kutztown University to host 2007 PSAC Cross Country Championships

 

KUTZTOWN, Pa. - Kutztown University is the site for the 2007 Pennsylvania
State Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships.  The races will take
place on Saturday, Oct. 27, on KU's North Campus Course. 

                The women's 6,000-meter race starts at 10 a.m., followed by
the men's 8,000-meter race at 11 a.m.   Admission is free, while parking and
a championship program will be $5 per car.  Additional programs are $2 each.


 

Women's Team  Preview 

                Edinboro has been the most dominant women's team in PSAC
cross country history, winning the last nine championships and 15 overall
crowns since the first title was awarded in 1980.  However, the Fighting
Scots will likely get a heavy dose of competition from Kutztown, which has
spent the bulk of the 2007 season as the highest ranked team in the East
Region, including a No. 11 designation in the Oct. 23 poll released by the
U.S. Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association.  

In order to dethrone Edinboro, Kutztown's Joanna Horstmann, Stephanie
Williams and Kristin Cupido will have to match strategy with the 'Boro's
Rachael Lanzel and company if they are to be successful.   Horstman and
Williams are returning All-PSAC performers.  
                Also waiting to pounce into the team title hunt is a quality
squad from Bloomsburg.  The Huskies will have a good chance to break into
the fray with an experienced group of runners who are ranked second in the
region and No. 13 in Division II.  Three-time All-PSAC runner Amber
Hackenberg and Beth Schwing, who was 10th at PSACs and regionals in 2006,
are among the expected front runners.  

                Edinboro, which historically has had great success in the
post season, enters the meet ranked third in the region and No. 14 in
Division II.  In addition to Lanzel, last year's individual champion, the
Fighting Scots will look for contributions from Becca Nungesser, Ashley
Ferraro and Kristine Beringer.  The latter three earned All-PSAC honors a
year ago in helping Edinboro retain its championship streak.        

                A group of four or five other teams also have aspirations
for top finishes.  East Stroudsburg, Shippensburg, Millersville and Indiana
(Pa.), with Clarion also in the mix, will all be jockeying for position.
Each team has a quality strength - Millersville, Shippensburg, Clarion with
stellar front runners, while ESU and IUP have quality packs - but where each
team's No. 5 runner finishes may determine the order of finish.  Slippery
Rock and Lock Haven have shown promise during the regular season, but may be
hampered in the team standings by a lack of depth.  

                Mansfield and West Chester look to make noise in team races,
with both teams likely to need a standout race from their packs to move up
in the standings.  California (Pa.) and Cheyney round out the team
competitors.  

 

Individual Title

                The race within the race is for the individual title, and
the battle of the day just might be for the women's individual crown.
All-America runners Erin Richard (Clarion) and Lanzel could go gun to wire
alongside each other in a show of elite athletes up front. Others who could
be in the mix if the door is opened up front are Kutztown's Williams and
Horstmann, along with Shippensburg freshman Abby Huber.  

 

Men's Team  Preview 

                The 50th championship season of PSAC men's cross country
will be marked today.  The celebration will be highlighted with an expected
epic battle between two of the top 10 teams in the country in Edinboro and
Slippery Rock.  

                Perennial power Edinboro has come out on top more often than
not, winning 25 of the previous 49 championships.  From 1984-2002, The Scots
won a whopping 18 of 19 titles.  However, it has been Lock Haven that has
won the team title the past four years to derail the 'Boro train.  This year
Slippery Rock seeks its first crown since 1991, which marked the only blip
on Edinboro's impressive 19-year run.  

                Led by Jeff Weiss and Pat Reagan, Slippery Rock was ranked
No. 5 in the nation and first in the region in the Oct. 23 poll by the U.S.
Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association.  Weiss, a two-time
All-American, is a past PSAC Champion, winning the title in 2005 before
finishing second last fall.  

                In order to run with the Rock's leaders, Edinboro
All-American Dave Niemera and Josh Arthur will be truly tested.  Edinboro
was ranked ninth in Division II and second in the region in the most recent
polls.  The key will be which team can get its scoring five among the top 15
to score less than 50 points.  

                Who will be the 2007 champion appears to be a two-way way
battle, yet the competition for the next several spots will be just as
heated, with any of eight teams batting for third place.  

                The four-time defending champions from Lock Haven have some
NCAA experience on the squad in Brandon Pomerantz and Shawn More, and will
not give up the title defense without a fight.

                East Stroudsburg and Mansfield have the luxury of having
national caliber front runners in Iuri Pinto and Chris Cummings,
respectively, but both teams will need big efforts from their fourth and
fifth runners to be a factor in the team standings.  West Chester's Tom
Pearson has had an outstanding regular season and if he parlays that success
into the postseason, the Golden Rams will have an addition to the top 10
individuals and help propel the team to the upper echelon. Shippensburg has
two of its top three runners taking a medical redshirt, which will surely
limit the Red Raiders' chances.   

                The Golden Bears of Kutztown are looking for the home course
advantage that may move a talented group to a surprise finish.  Bloomsburg
and Millersville will go as far as their packs can take them.  If either
team gets all five in the top third of the event, they could be pushing
their way among the top of this group.  California (Pa.) has shown some
promise during early October and could be a team that may be moving toward a
new high for the Vulcans.   

                Cheyney and Indiana (Pa.) are in a rebuilding mode.
Finishing in the top 10 for the Wolves or Crimson Hawks would be a starting
point for their futures.

 

Individual Title

                Can anyone run with Slippery Rock's Jeff Weiss?  That is the
question for the individual title.  Those with the best chance are
Mansfield's Cummings, East Stroudsburg's Pinto and Edinboro's Niemira, as
well as Weiss' teammate Reagan.  West Chester's Pearson, a senior, also
would like to add an individual title to his collegiate resume.

 

 

--

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Josh Leiboff

Kutztown University Sports Information

Phone: (610) 683-4182

Fax: (610) 683-4676

Email: leiboff at kutztown.edu

Website: http://www.kubears.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.kutztown.edu/pipermail/press-release/attachments/20071024/3407d2ab/attachment.html