George Washington University Athletics
Cross Country Opens 2006 Season
8/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Aug. 29, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC - The George Washington University Men's and Women's Cross Country team stampedes in to the 2006 season this Saturday under the twilight of Emmitsburg, MD, just south of the Mason-Dixon line, at Mount St. Mary's University. This relatively flat course should amount into some fast times as the Colonials will see how they stack up against several schools from the Baltimore-Washington area, as well as host school, Mount St. Mary's University.
At the 2005 Mount St. Mary's Invitational, the Colonials finished in fifth place on the men's side with Daniel Morgan (Boyle County H.S./Danville, KY) leading the way, while Taylor Leavitt (Leavitt Area H.S./Turner, ME) led the women to a fourth place finish.
Season Preview
The 2006 edition of The George Washington University Men's and Women's Cross Country teams will be made up of a strong group of returnees and an incoming class that will be expected to produce right away. The 2006 roster boasts many key performers from last season, along with several incoming freshman who will be the backbone of great teams in the future.
The men return a solid nucleus from last year that will look to move the Colonials up the Atlantic 10 ranks in 2006. All seven runners who competed in last year's Atlantic 10 Championships return this season, hungry to improve on a 10th place finish. This youthful but experienced group of harriers is made up of only one senior, as well as three juniors and three sophomores.
Sophomores Chris Pisano, Keith Moody and Collin Stevenson lead the Colonials coming into the 2006 season. Pisano led the Colonials in five of seven races, including finishing sixth in the GW Invitational and third in the Tribe Open XC Invitational. Moody and Stevenson provided consistency while also finishing second and fourth on team respectively in the Atlantic 10 Championships.
GW will also have the luxury of Daniel Morgan returning to Foggy Bottom for his senior season. A three-year standout, Morgan took first for the Colonials in the first two meets before giving way to Pisano at the GW Invitational. Coach Beil expects Morgan to be a consistent performer at front again in 2006, anchoring an otherwise inexperienced scoring five.
Juniors Joe Altenau, Mark Drath, and twin brothers Christian and John Woodside also return. Altenau, who was expected to be a top four finisher for the Colonials last year, is coming off a back injury, but looks to be better than ever this coming season. Christian Woodside overcame a late-season injury and looks to regain the form he had as the top freshman in 2004 when he led the Colonials at the Mid-Atlantic Regional. His brother, John, also looks to rebound from an off year, and has been training alongside Christian in hopes of continuing where he left off in 2004, when he was a top ten finisher in the Cappy Anderson Invitational. Drath is an athlete with top runner potential and Beil is expecting a breakout year from him.
Joining the Colonials in 2006 is a trio of talented freshmen: Andrew Coleman, Robert Lockhart and Stephen Rutgers. Coleman, a three-time all-state runner from Rhode Island is expected to contend for a top spot as he steps onto campus. Lockhart, an all-metro runner from Virginia, and Rutgers, out of the highly competitive ranks of California will both add talent and depth as well.
The women also return four of their top runners from last year and will look to move up the ladder in the Atlantic 10. The loss of five seniors, including standout Lindsay Blum, hurts, but Coach Beil believes with a strong nucleus returning and a very solid group of newcomers, the Colonials could have a breakthrough year in the Atlantic 10 in 2006.
Audrey Noonan, GW's top runner as a freshman last year returns and is expected to lead the pack again this season. Rounding out the returnees are senior Taylor Leavitt, and juniors Michelle Concannon, Mae Polhemus and Katie Walsh. Leavitt, the Colonials lone senior returns after a successful junior season where she finished in the top three for the Colonials in all but one of her races. Polhemus, arguably the most talented runner from 2004, is looking to rebound from an injury-plagued season, and regain the form that got her a second place overall finish at the Cappy Anderson Invitational her freshman year. Concannon and Walsh, both coming back from injuries in 2005, also look to be among the front-runners for the Colonials.
The Colonials had an outstanding recruiting year, adding seven new faces to the squad. Coach Beil believes this incoming freshman class has the potential to help lead the Colonials back to prominence in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Graduate student Kate Neeper comes to Foggy Bottom as a transfer from Southern California, where she was a team captain in 2005, and was also named to the Pac-10 Women's Cross Country All-Academic first team. She is expected to add experience and make an immediate impact as a top five runner.
The incoming freshman class of Erica Freebury, Caitlin Lowery, Anya Oleynik, Meaghan Smith, Kelly Wills and Madelyn Healy will all make solid contributions to add to a team that finished 11th in the A-10 last season. Though Oleynik's first season of competitive running came late in her junior year, she had quickly developed into a top runner in the state of Maryland by the close of her senior year. Lowery, a talented freshman from Florida, should also come in and make an immediate impact. She was unable to run her senior track season due to injury, but watched her teammate and training partner go on to become one of the best milers in the state. Lowery has had a great summer of training and should be among the Colonials' top runners this year. Freebury, Smith, Wills and Healy will provide both talent and depth to the Colonials this year. All four are capable of having breakout seasons, and be among the scoring-five by the end of the 2006 season.
