Cross Country expects best year ever

The GCSU cross country teams began what they hope will be a promising season on Saturday, Aug. 26 by dominating the  North Georgia Challenge in Dahlonega.
Head Coach Joe Samprone is enthusiastic about the upcoming season.
“I have the top five runners returning from last year on both teams. But I am also very excited to have a number of newcomers who I feel can challenge my top runners,” Samprone said.
The men’s team retairns top five runners Richard Dobson, Michael Hague, Alex Pate, Mike Demarest and Joe Bence. Dobson, a junior, finished in the top spot for the Bobcats in every meet last season, including a first place finish at the Oglethorpe University Invitational.
“I’m pretty excited about the team this year. We’ve got a strong group of guys with a lot of desire to do well,” Dobson said.
Samprone looks to seniors Bence and Alex Smith, along with Dobson, for leadership. Bence finished in the top five for the Bobcats in four meets last season.
Samprone expects help from some of his newcomers including junior Jason Hendrix, a transfer student from Reinhardt, and freshmen Josh Holler, John Bruener and John Hubert.
“Based on early practices I would say Holler and Bruener will challenge for spots in the top five,” he said.
Samprone said that having so many talented new runners will push the veterans to work harder and run better.
“I have some walk-ons that, once they’re cleared, can help the team as well,” he said.
The Lady Bobcats, just as the men, will rely on their experience.
Returning top five runners from last season include Sarah Hakala, Cystal Sutton, Jennifer Keeton, Patricia Dedrick and Kellie Hughes.
Hakala had a successful freshmen year, finishing in the team’s top spot in five of seven meets. Samprone expects only improvement in her sophomore campaign.
The team’s only senior, Sutton was the Lady Bobcats’ top finisher in one meet and second in four others.
Samprone also expects help from his freshmen class of Jenny Balkcom, Heather Raines and Bonnie Ueltzen.
“I’m really hoping that Bonnie and Heather will challenge for spots in the top five this season,” Samprone said.
“I feel like both teams will be better than last year; the thing is, in our sport you can’t play defense,” he said. “If the competition got better than we did, we’re in trouble.”
He said that with continued hard work in practice, he sees no reason for anything other than a successful season.
“One thing that happens is that everyone picks it up a notch and runs a little better in meets,” Samprone said.
Saturday’s meet matches the teams up against Peach Belt Conference rivals North Georgia College and State University and Clayton State University among other teams.    
“Clayton’s women’s team is a powerhouse in our conference,” Samprone said. “I’m anxious to see how our team compares to theirs.”
Samprone said he is also eager to see how his men’s team stacks up to Clayton’s usually competitive men’s team.
Along with four meets in the state of Georgia, each GCSU cross country team will take an out of state trip. The men’s team travels to Minneapolis, Minn., for the Roy Giak Invitational on Sept. 23 and the women’s team competes in the Fordham Invitational in the Bronx, N.Y., on Sept. 9.
Samprone hopes that all of these meets will prepare them for the Peach Belt Conference championship in Columbus, on Oct. 21 and, eventually, for the NCAA Regional meet in Memphis, Tenn.
“There are two ways to go to the regional meet, by invite by winning your conference or you can just go,” Samprone said. “We’re going one way or another for the experience.”
With the combination of experience, talented newcomers and a lot of hard work, both Bobcat squads look forward to having a strong season.
“I’m excited, I know that each team will improve from last year,” Samprone said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 1 2006. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry