 |
Butler Opens Cross Country Season At Home
Aug. 28, 2003 HOME OPENER: Butler's men's and women's cross country teams will open the 2003 season on the home turf when they host the St. Vincent Cross Country Classic on Saturday, Aug. 30. Butler's women will join Ball State and IPFW in a 5K race beginning at 9 a.m., while the men's competition will follow with a four-mile race. Both races will be held on Butler's campus course, which is located on the athletic fields surrounding Butler's softball and soccer fields. DOG DAYS: The end of summer has signaled the start of a Butler cross country title run in every year since 1996! The Butler men's cross country team has captured five consecutive Horizon League championships, while Butler's women have taken the league crown in five of the past seven years. Both Butler teams are defending champions this fall. NEW LEADER: With the graduation departure of 2002 Horizon League individual champ and league "Runner of the Year" Mark Tucker, Butler head coach Joe Franklin will be looking for a new team leader this fall. He might not have to look very far. Senior Gary Blackman (West Midlands, U.K.) earned All-Horizon League recognition with an eighth place finish at last year's league championship, and he was named Horizon League "Newcomer of the Year" for running events at the 2003 Horizon League Track and Field Championship. Blackman won league titles in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and the 10,000 meter run, and he went on to participate in the NCAA Track and Field Championship in the steeplechase. EXCUSED ABSENCE: Senior Becky Lyne (Sheffield, U.K.) will miss Butler's opening meet, but she won't be idle. Lyne, who was named the Horizon League's Female Track and Field Athlete of the Year last spring, is competing in the 800 meter run at the World University Games in South Korea. Lyne gained international acclaim this summer when she won the 800 meter run at the Under 23 European Championships.
BULLDOG BITS: Butler has seven All-Horizon League cross country runners returning this fall. Senior Brian Dunn (Indianapolis) placed seventh at last year's conference meet and was named first team all-league, while Blackman, senior Brad Bennett (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) and senior Lennon Wicks (Nowra, Australia) all earned second team all-league recognition. Lyne placed seventh in the women's championship race and earned first team all-league honors, while sophomores Lauren Brentano (Johannesburg, South Africa) and Maria Beitel (Powell, Ohio) each picked up second team all-league notice...Butler's men's cross country team is ranked 7th in the Great Lakes Region preseason poll.
|
