Sept. 2, 1999
After returning to competition as a varsity sport for the first time since 1987, the Northwestern cross country team will attempt to build on the success of its inaugural season and become a force in the Big Ten.
The early success has brought heightened expectations to Evanston for 1999. The young Wildcats appear ready to meet the challenge, relying on a solid group of returning runners as well as a trio of talented newcomers to form a strong nucleus that will compete with the top squads in one of the nation's best distance conferences.
While head coach April Ecke believes that many positives can be extracted from last year's successful debut, she knows that the team must continue to improve in order to stay competitive.
?As a team, we want to do better than sixth place at the Big Ten meet,? she said. ?I think the biggest challenge we'll face this year will be trying to maintain what we started last year. A lot of teams will be out there to get us now. We won't be able to sneak up on anybody this year.?
The Wildcats will once again rely on the sophomore duo of Jennifer Anderson and Cherisse Lancaster to keep the team score low. Anderson establish herself as one of the top runners in the region, finishing 12th at the Big Ten Championships and 14th at the NCAA District Championships. Lancaster was only a few steps behind, placing 16th at Big Tens and 17th in the district meet. These two All-District honorees are the cornerstones of the program and Ecke believes they are only going to get better.
?Both Jennifer and Cherisse have a good chance of qualifying for the national meet if they build on what they did last year,? she said. ?Last year, they were competitive with a lot of girls who qualified for nationals, so they know that they can compete and beat them this year.?
Behind Anderson and Lancaster, Ecke has assembled a talented bunch of runners that will be counted on to produce. Senior Mary Beth Ellis and junior Shannon McGowan both contributed mightily last year and return with high expectations. Sophomore Clarissa Hitchon, who missed most of last season with an injury, also returns and figures to contribute. Ellis ? a four-year letterwinner in swimming ? McGowan and senior Sarah Clark will also provide leadership for the young ?Cats as the captains.
?Mary Beth brings tremendous leadership,? said Ecke. ?She has an outstanding work ethic and is very determined. She's just a great role model who works so hard at everything she does. Shannon set herself apart as a leader, not so much in a vocal way, but through her work ethic and dedication to the sport.?
To continue the building process, Ecke brought in a talented group of freshmen. Rachel Evjen, Nicole Kuznia and Karen Rogers will provide depth for the team and competition for the veteran runners. All three bring different styles to the table.
?Rachel is a fighter,? said Ecke. ?She's just an all-around competitor. Nicole is very talented, and has the lowest times of any runner we're recruited. And Karen is the type of runner you like to bring into your program. She gradually improved so much over the last three years of high school and hasn't fully tapped her ability.
?It definitely helps to have depth, especially at such a competitive level that we are at in the Big Ten,? said Ecke.
With their first year of competition complete, Ecke expects this year's team to build on the positives and continue to improve. The infusion of young talent along with a year of experience should yield success in 1999.
?Last year, we had the excuse of being a first-year program,? she said. ?Nobody knew what to expect. Now we have upperclassmen who have been through a year and can help the newcomers. No question, we have more talent. The girls on the team are a year more developed and with the freshmen we have coming in, I can see us moving up a couple of spots in the Big Ten.?