BIG EAST Cross Country Championships Preview

BIG EAST Cross Country Championships PreviewBIG EAST Cross Country Championships Preview

Oct. 28, 2010

By Jeff Gentil
GoBEARCATS.com

As the men's and women's cross country teams head to Syracuse, N.Y. for the BIG EAST Championship meet this weekend, there is a lot of hope for improving upon last year's results. Coach Bill Schnier and the Bearcat runners have had another good season and although the BIG EAST is one of the top cross country conferences in the nation, both teams have a fighting chance to climb up from eighth (men) and ninth (women) in 2009.

While the women are having a good season, the men are faring better thus far. After placing 25th at the very competitive Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind., the men are coming together at the right time to have a good showing at the BIG EAST meet.

"The whole team is running well," Schnier said. "We have three runners who should be major players in (junior) Eric Finan, (sophomore) Oliver Book, and (senior) Tommy Morgan. Those three have separated themselves from the rest of the team."

Even though Finan, Book, and Morgan are a notch above, that isn't to say Schnier is down on the rest of the team.

"Eric is now a national runner," he said. "Oliver is in amazing shape and ready to run at the front of the second pack and Tommy is right with him. The other six are very similar and I know two or more will stand out. (Senior) David Barry and (sophomore) Chase Beckmann are really coming on strong. Our strategy (after the top three) is to have the rest run in a pack and hopefully two of the six will come through."

Currently, Schnier ranks the men seventh in the BIG EAST. And while that may seem disappointing, there are five conference teams currently ranked in the top-35 in the country (Syracuse, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Villanova, and Providence). With Louisville ahead of UC and Marquette one notch behind, the challenge is to overtake the Cardinals and possibly get into that top five.

While the women placed 35th at Pre-Nationals, Schnier isn't completely down on them or their chances to improve at the BIG EAST meet.

"We stand at a crossroads," he said. "Each of our runners has had good races but seldom on the same day. If you can do something once, you can do it every time. Some of our runners were a bit star struck at Pre-Nationals. We need to work better together and not overrate our opponents."

Unlike the men, the women are not as deep with runners who can compete at a high level.

"We have a solid top five," Schnier said. "We have problems after that. (Senior) Michele McKenney and (senior) Lilian Jelimo would be in the top seven runners (on most teams). (Junior) Alison Zukowski would also be able to compete."

Junior Jill Glassmeyer and senior Katie Lewnard round out the top five, but in order for the Bearcats to have a chance, all five have to come through.

"Mainly we need to look for the best and find what we're looking for," Schnier said. "Although the BIG EAST is very tough, we have five who can compete and compete very well. Our goal is to not only do better than last year but reach our potential."

Keeping pace with the men, the BIG EAST women's teams are equally good, including having the number one team in the nation - Villanova. After the Wildcats are Georgetown, Syracuse, Providence and Notre Dame making the BIG EAST truly one of the most competitive conferences in the country.

After the BIG EAST Championships, the cross country teams are only guaranteed one more meet, that being the Great Lakes Regional in Oakland, Mich. the weekend of November 13. Should an individual qualify for the NCAA meet, they will return to Terre Haute on Monday, November 22.