Aug. 26, 2005
EVANSTON, ILL--It will be a fresh start for the Wildcats this season, as the harriers look to fill the voids left by graduation. Diana Hossfeld, a three-time All-District runner, is the biggest name from that exodus, but three other women graduated who competed in last year's Big Ten and Midwest Regional Championships -- Kyna Forkins, Lesley Meade and Caroline Speirs.
The best news for fifth-year head coach Amy Tush is that she returns Marie Grabinski. A relative newcomer to the sport of cross country--last year was just her second year of running competitively -- Grabinski made quite an impression as a freshman, leading the Wildcats in every race she ran. The highlight came at the Midwest Regional Championships, where she finished 32nd overall and ran the 11th-best 6K time in school history.
"Marie is such a tough competitor, and I know she is very hungry this season," said Tush. "At the end of the season last year she was starting to make that transition to the next level, and there just wasn't enough season. We hope to pick up where she left off and get to that next level in 2005."
Tush will look to several other underclassmen to work with Grabinski. Junior Mallory O'Niel was injured during the first part of last season, but was able to recover in time to run at both Big Tens and the Midwest Regional (where she scored) for the second time in two years. Classmate Casey Shea will look to regain the form she showed as a freshman in 2003, when she competed in all of the championship events; last year, she ran just four times (including the Big Ten Championships).
"I know they have both been struggling with nagging injuries all last year, but I am a big believer in consistency in training," said Tush. "I think they will bounce back fine and get their nose right in the mix from the beginning of the season."
Grabinski's classmate, Alison Coren, also struggled with injuries in her first season of collegiate racing. However, like O'Niel, she recovered in time to compete for the Wildcats at Big Tens and the regional meet. This year, Coren is being counted on to consistently score as one of NU's top five runners.
The senior leadership will come from Jessica Anderson, who was voted one of the team's captains for 2005, and Ashley Roberts. Roberts ran three times last year, and was an alternate at the Big Ten Championships. Anderson, meanwhile, had four showings last year and will look to break into the championship lineup for the first time in her last year of collegiate racing. The other seniors on the roster are Lisa Marx and Michelle Sandler.
Tush is particularly excited about her incoming class. Hilary Forman headlines the group; she comes to Northwestern as a two-time state champion in the state of Kansas; between her 2002 and 2004 titles, she was runner-up in 2003. Carly Brown, meanwhile, never finished lower than sixth in her four years running the state championship meet in Montana, and Megan Young -- whose high school coach at Detroit Country Day was former Wildcats mentor April (Ecke) Likhite -- had four top-10 finishes at the Michigan state championships. They are three of eight women who will look to make an immediate impact in the Northwestern lineup.
"Carly, Hilary, Megan, Alison King and Alyssa Urish bring the leadership and enthusiasm that we need this year," said Tush. "I do not like to put pressure on my freshmen, but I will say that I expect at least two of them to break into our top five by the end of the season."