Page B6 / Friday, August 29, 2008
SPORTS
Third place is tiie new first place
FILE PHOTO
This year’s women’s cross country team aims to best its fifth place finish in the Southern
Conference Championships by finishing in the top three this year
Adam Lawson
Reporter >
Elen's women’s cross-country team
aims to do something that has not
been done in the last decade: finish
in the top three at the Southern
Conference Championships.
Last season left a bitter taste when
the team finished in fifth place,
missing the opportunity to race at the
NCAA nationals. Individually, the team
was led by then-sophomore Caitlin
Beeler, the 2006 SoCon Freshman of
the Year, who finished fourth overall in
the field.
The season was capped off by
consistent fourth and fifth place
finishes, including a fifth place
finish out of 44 teams at the Disney
Invitational, finishing ahead of SoCon
foes The Citadel and Wofford. Beeler
boasted an individual fifth place finish
as well.
The Phoenix stayed on track a week
later, finishing fourth out of 18 teams
at the Blue Ridge Mountain Open. With
third place in reach, the team just
could not finish it, something that
plagued them the whole season.
But with a new season comes a new
coach and with a new coach comes new
expectations, new beginnings and new
opportunities.
“1 have to hold our team to a high
standard,” Head Coach Christine Engel
said. “It is my job to make sure they
show a commitment to the team. And
it is their job to make sure they live up
to their responsibilities as members of
the Elon cross country team.”
Many of the squad’s runners and
most of its key players are returning,
including junior Cait Beeler, the 2006
SoCon Freshman of the Year. Last
season, Beeler took the top spot on the
phoenix squad with then-freshman
Emily Fournier close on her heels
The in-house competition will still bj
boiling as Beeler and Fournier look to
lead the great depth of this years team
Another thing that hasn’t changed
much over the course of a summer is
the schedule. Just as last season, the
team will race their season opener at
5 p.m. today at the Wake Forest Relays
Last season, the women finished
fourth out of four teams at this meet
which was the season-opener as well
The Demon Deacons were able to grab
first place as the Phoenix narrowly
missed a third place finish.
“We are looking to put up a stronger
front and a much more united team,"
Captain Colleen McCarthy said. “Weare
going to be much more competitive."
Competing in three more races in
less than a month, the women travel
to Boone for the Blue Ridge Open
once again. Usually racing very well
in the mountains, the meet will be
the team’s final run before the SoCon
Championships begin two weeks later,
where the Phoenix hopes to break the
curse of third place.
“With our great incoming freshman
class and returnees, our team is
looking to move up in the conference
place-wise,” senior Katie White said.
“We’re definitely aiming for a top three
finish this year.”
Men’s and
Women’s Cross
Country
8/29 - 5 p.m.
Wake Forest Relays
Winston-Salem, N.C.
9/6 - 8 a.m.
Eye Opener Invitational
Spartanburg, S.C.
9/2 - 9 a.m.
Asics/Winthrop Invitational
Rock HiU, S.C.
10/4 - 9 a.m.
Hagan Stone Classic
Greensboro, N.C.
10/17 - 9 a.m.
Blue Ridge Open
Boone, N.C.
11/1 - 9 a.m.
Southern Conference
Championship
Spartanburg, S.C.
11/8 - 9 a.m.
Pack Invitational
Raleigh, N.C.
11/15-9 a.m.
NCAA Regional
Championships
Tanglewood, N.C.
11/24 - 11 a.m.
NCAA Championships
Terre Haute, Ind.
For more information,
visit www.elonphoenix.com
Maturity plays key role In men’s cross
country success at season’s start
Adam Lawson
Reporter
After a sixth place finish in
last year’s Southern Conference
Championships, the Elon Phoenix
men's cross country team is aiming for
a better, more consistent squad under
new Head Coach Christine Engel.
One of the weaknesses of the
2007 squad was their inconsistency
throughout the season. While they
managed to have some impressive
meets, such as their second place
finish in the Catamount Classic and
their fourth place finish at the Disney
Classic, the Phoenix struggled in
others, finishing as low as 32nd in one
meet. The biggest disappointment
came at the Southern Conference
Championships when Elon finished
sixth.
“Last year we didn’t race well
together,” Captain Rick Myers said. “We
are working on racing well together in
practice so hopefully that will carry
over to some of the meets.”
Fall 2008 is an opportunity for the
Phoenix to show that this is a new,
improved and rejuvenated team. Engel
said she promises improvement in
the team by way of increased level of
intensity and making the team more
disciplined.
Elon’s men’s team is suffering from
the loss of brothers Justin and Eric
Garren, both of whom graduated in
2008. Stepping in for the departed
players and leading the squad this
season will be senior co-captains
Myers and Eric Lewandowski.
Myers hopes to better his 27th place
individual finish at the conference
championships last year, while
simultaneously serving as one of the
team’s leaders on and off the course.
“It means a lot to me to be captain
in my last year,” Myers said. “I want
to welcome the new freshmen into
collegiate running and hopefully get
them accustomed to being here."
Lewandowski had the team’s best
finish at SoCon last year, finishingfie
race in a time of 26:31.88, good enoo^
for 22nd. Consistently finishing within
the top five, Lewandowski is a bright
spot for Elon.
All in all, maturity will play a role
in how the team performs throughout
the season. Being a team filled with
veterans, the runners already know
what is needed of them and what they
need to bring to the team and the
meets.
“Our team is full of people who
simply love running,” Myers said.
“They love running for what it is
and have the right attitude. They
understand it is about teamwork and
each other. They’re bringing the love
aspect to running."
Cross country coach begins career at Elon
Adam Lawson
Reporter
Christine Engel is a runner. She
runs because of the feeling. She runs
because it’s fun. But most of all, she
runs because she loves it. Now, she
has a different kind of running to do:
Running the men’s and women’s cross
country program at Elon.
After the
resignation of
Jackie Sgambati
from her alma
mater in May
2008, the process
began to find Elon
a new head coach.
In early July,
Engel was the one
running through
the door as head
cross country
coach and she has
not slowed down
since.
Engel comes
to Elon after
spending one year as the assistant
cross country and track and field
coach at Columbia University in New
York City and Elon will mark her first
head coaching gig.
Christine
Engel
As an accomplished athlete,
Engel dons numerous accolades,
accomplishments she hopes will carry
over in her lessons to the Phoenix.
After completing a solid career at
Clemson University, one that earned
her 12 varsity letters and two All-
ACC selections, Engel has coached
at a variety of places, and has been
successful at each spot.
“1 definitely feel part of the reason
for my success is the fact that 1 can
draw from my own athletic experiences
and relate to my runners,” Engel said.
‘1 have also been blessed with great
coaches in my lifetime, and 1 have
taken some of what 1 learned from
those coaches and used that to better
the teams that 1 have coached."
After graduating from Clemson,
Engel was the head coach of both
track and cross country for West
Morris Senior High School in New
Jersey. While there, she earned the
2003 Cross Country Coach of the Year
Award by the Newark Star Ledger and
coached her runners to a total of four
all-state teams and 34 all-conference
nominations.
Engel also coached the Impala
Racing Team, one of the elite club
running, where she
elped SIX athletes qualify for the 2008
Olympic trials in the marathon.
Prior to her stint at Columbia,
Engel spent three seasons holding the
same position at the University of San
Francisco. While there, Engel guided
both teams to their most successful
seasons in program history.
As for the upcoming season,
Engel looks forward to the schedule
that awaits the Phoenix runners,
saying that the variety of meets and
courses vi'ill help the team when it
comes time to compete in the SoCon
Championships.
“1 feel that both teams cariimp™'
on their finishes last season," Engel
said. “1 think the Southern Conferenc
is a tough conference, with a lot oi
depth, but 1 also believe that I
our runners improve upon our finis
in last year’s Southern Conference
Championships.” .k
Those runners that she has so
confidence in have equally the sam
amount of confidence in their new
coach.
“She is not someone that is gom
to take anything from us," Captain
Colleen McCarthy said. “She has a
positive attitude and is very j
She is concerned with our healtn
our overall well-being, which is n>
important.”