Bulldogs Crack “Top 30” In Men’s Cross Country
Head coach Matt Roe expects Butler to have a
successful cross country season this fall, and the voters on the
preseason national rankings apparently agree with him.
Butler’s men are ranked 20th in the U. S. Track and Cross
Country Coaches Association Preseason Division I Cross Country
Rankings released this week.
The Bulldogs, who will compete at the Indiana Intercollegiate Meet
in Terre Haute on Friday (Sept. 18), also are gathering
considerable respect in the regional rankings. The Butler men
are the top-ranked team in Indiana and second overall to Wisconsin
in the Great Lakes Region rankings, while Butler’s women are
ranked 13th in the region. Butler is one of four schools in
Indiana to have both its men’ and women’s teams ranked
in the Great Lakes Region.
Roe is not surprised by the lofty recognition of Butler’s
men, with the return of six athletes who competed in the NCAA
Division I Cross Country Championship a year ago.
“We’re older, stronger and have more experience this
year,” noted the Butler coach, who’s beginning his
third season at the helm of the Bulldogs. “We’re
in a much stronger position this year, than a year ago. Our
goal is get back to nationals and be competitive.”
One Butler runner who has been very competitive at the national
meet is senior Andy Baker. He’s a
two-time cross country All-American, a two-time Horizon League
champion and a two-time Horizon League Cross Country Athlete of the
Year. He placed 40th at the 2008 NCAA Division I Cross
Country Championship, after coming 28th at the national meet a year
earlier.
“He’s our leader, not only by being our top runner, but
also by example. He’s an Academic All-American, and
he’s one of the top runners in the country,” stated
Roe. “Andy is a very driven individual and a very high
achiever. And one of the things that’s going to help
him this year is the depth of our team. It helps us have
better training on a daily basis.”
Joining Baker from last year’s NCAA squad are seniors
Rob Mullett, Kris Gauson and
Tom Boardman and juniors Justin
Roeder and Madison Roeder. Mullett
was runner-up to Baker at the Horizon League Championship last
year, while Boardman placed third in the league, Gauson finished
fourth, Justin Roeder came in fifth and Madison Roeder placed
11th. All five earned All-League honors.
Roe also can call on seniors, Steve Lisgo and
Joe MacDonald, both NCAA track qualifiers last
spring. Lisgo, the 2009 Horizon League Outdoor Track Athlete
of the Year, wound up earning All-American honors with a
third-place finish in the men’s 3,000 meter steeplechase at
the national meet. MacDonald qualified for nationals in the
men’s 5,000, and he placed 25th in the event. Gauson,
the 2009 Horizon League Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, also
competed at nationals in the men’s 1,500 meters.
Other returnees from last year squad, which captured an 11th
consecutive Horizon League title, are senior Taylor
Eaton, junior Matt Lawder and sophomore
Orion Wenrich. Eaton and Lawder both placed
among the “Top 25” individuals at the 2008 Horizon
League Cross Country Championship.
Adding strength to the men’s team will be three newcomers,
freshmen Kevin Oblinger, Derek
Groves and Craig Jordan.
The Butler women’s team is surrounded by more question marks,
but Roe is excited about the team’s potential.
“We’re really young, but we have some really good young
talent,” said the Butler coach. “Our overall
talent level is completely different from a year ago. Our
biggest challenge may be inexperience, at least early in the
season.”
Roe does have his top six runners back from last year’s team,
which placed third at the Horizon League Championship.
Leading that group is junior Marbeth Shiell, who
earned first team All-League honors with a fourth place finish at
the league meet. She’s joined by seniors Sara
Bird and Whitney Turner, junior
Mary Andorfer and sophomores Lauren
Haberkorn and Bonnie Kaminsky.
Senior Ashley Dick, junior Erica
Hunt and sophomore Sarah Hawkins also
were members of last year’s team, though the three did not
compete at the league championship.
“We were pretty much depleted heading into last season, but
the team did a great job of training and getting better,”
added Roe. “This year’s team will have much
greater depth, and I think that will help us to be more
competitive.”
Roe added 11 newcomers to this year’s squad, junior
Rosie Edwards and 10 freshmen - Katie
Clark, Lauren McKillop, Kristi
Legg, Shelbi Burnette, Nicole
Humphrey, Callie Klatt, Kaitlyn
Love, Kelsey Neal, Karleen
Ritchie and Carly Solbolewski.
Several of the newcomers, including Clark, Legg and McKillop, could
have an immediate impact on Butler’s success in 2009.
Clark was ranked 11th in the United Kingdom in the women’s
5,000 in 2008, while Legg was ranked sixth in the U.K. in the
women’s U20 1,500 meters. McKillop placed fifth at the
Australia World Junior Cross Country Trials in 2009.
“It’s exciting to have the kind of talent that we have
in our freshmen group,” stated Roe. “As they have
a chance to adjust to college life and our training, I think
they’re going to be a special group.”
“This team has a chance to be very good,” added the
Butler coach.
Butler’s first big test of the season will come at this
weekend’s Indiana Intercollegiate Meet, which will be held on
the same course that will host the NCAA Division I Championship in
November. The women’s 5K race is scheduled to start at
4:30 p.m. (ET) and will be followed by the men’s 8K race at
5:15 p.m. (ET).
