2011 CMS Cross Country Preview
The men's and women's cross country teams are both the reigning SCIAC Champions and have each qualified for the NCAA Championships in three straight years. Here is a preview of the 2011 season which both teams hope concludes at the NCAA Championships in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Athenas
The women's team is one of six teams that competed at the 2010 NCAA Championships that did not graduate any of their runners. CMS, the SCIAC and West Region champs, won the conference by 28 points and the region by 35 points and ended up the season placing 20th at the NCAA Championship meet in Waverly, IA. The 2011 squad will be aiming for their fourth consecutive team trip to the championships which will be hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh at the Lake Breeze Golf Course in Oshkosh.
The team is led by two-time All-American Jennifer Tavé (pictured). She was one of many Athenas who improved during the track season with personal bests in the 5000 (17:15.37) and the 10,000 (35:22.27). Her 10K time broke a 27-year old school record and she went on to earn her first All-American award in track in that event. The team's likely second runner will be a newcomer to CMS cross country, but not to CMS. Laura Sauvage transferred from UCLA after the fall semester and went on to set personal bests in the 5000 (17:14.03) and 1500 (4:45.49) during the track season. Sauvage's 5K mark earned her a spot at the NCAA Track & Field Championships.
The strength of the 2011 team will be its depth as nine additional women have experience at the NCAA Championships. Julia Rigby has competed at NCAA's three times and earned All-Region honors all three years. Breanna Deutsch spent last fall abroad in Spain, but earned All-Region honors and competed at the NCAA meet in 2009. Both seniors have 5K bests on the track in the 18:00 range. Senior Alison Gushue, juniors Laura Wyatt, Aubrey Zimmerling, Marnie Hogue and Kate Crawford and sophomores Allison Barnwell and Adele Eslinger also have NCAA experience and all seven women have 5000 meters bests under 19:00 and ran in the CMS top seven at least once last season.
The quality front-runners and incredible depth of the Athenas, which will only be bolstered by the incoming first years, should make the team the favorites to repeat as SCIAC and West Region champions.
Stags
The men's team, unlike their Athena counterparts, were hit hard by graduation losing five runners who had run in the top five during their career including three from the 2010 SCIAC Championship team. After winning the SCIAC by 25 points, the Stags ran an hard fought race and came up two points short of the victory at the West Region meet. CMS came back to be the top team from the West at the NCAA Championships placing 19th overall. The 2011 squad will also be aiming for their fourth consecutive trip to the championships which would be a first for the Stags.
The team should be led by Brian Sutter (pictured). He was the team's top finisher at all, but the first race last season. He won the SCIAC Multi-Dual race, finished second at the SCIAC Championships and finished third at the West Region meet in 2010. A trio of juniors coming off excellent track seasons should be in the front of the Stags pack. Rafer Dannenhauer set the CMS sophomore record in the 5000 (14:43.60) and a PR of 9:19.47 in the steeplechase with both times NCAA qualifying marks. Bennett Naden was SCIAC runner-up in the steeple (9:17.86) and ran 15:31.37 in the 5000. Russell Page made huge improvements in the track season with an excellent 31:44.75 in the 10000, fourth best among West Region returners, and 15:33.37 in the 5000.
Senior Bryan Chow has been in the team's top five for two of their NCAA runs and will likely round out the team's top five. Backing up the top group will be senior Julian Martinez, a top seven runner during his career when healthy, and sophomore Tyler Robinson, the team's top freshman last season. The Stags will have at least two incoming freshmen and addition returners who could push into the top seven depending of their summer training and adaptation to college academics.
Season-long focus after a strong summer of training will be significant for the Stags if they are to repeat as SCIAC Champions. Their goal of qualifying as a team for the NCAA Championships for the fourth straight year is a worthy and challenging one for 2011.
