2007 Cross Country Preview
8/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Aug. 23, 2007
For the first time in 16 years, the Air Force cross country team will have a new look to its coaching staff. John Hayes enters his first season at the helm of the Falcons' program, replacing veteran coach Mark Stanforth, who retired at the conclusion of the 2007 track and field season.
Although Hayes may be new to the Academy staff, he is no stranger to coaching success. In addition, the Falcons hand him a strong squad of upperclassmen on the men's team and an impressive group of young runners on the women's team. The excitement surrounding the 2007 season can already be felt, from the athletes to their new coach.
THE COACH
Prior to appointment at the Academy, Hayes served in the same capacity at Northern Arizona University, heading the cross country program and working as an assistant coach with the track team's distance runners. During his three years with the Lumberjacks, Hayes coached six individual NCAA champions and nine All-Americans.
A two-time Big Sky Conference cross country coach of the year, Hayes guided his teams to four Big Sky titles, while accounting for five of six individual titles. He also qualified five individuals to the NCAA cross country championship meet, two of which collected All-America citations.
Hayes brings a new, fresh excitement to the program that has already rubbed off on some of the returning runners. Several members of the men's team were able to meet with Hayes prior to the start of the season and everyone shares an excitement about the future of the Air Force program.
"Kenny (Grosselin) and I met with Coach Hayes about 10 days before school started, and I feel he is the perfect man for the job," senior co-captain Josh Van Wyngaarden (La Vista, Neb.) said. "I believe he will understand the stressful life of the Academy much better than any other coach could, due to his experience at West Point. He will bring a laid-back, fun environment to workout in. At the same time, however, everyone will be ready to roll when it's time to get to it. While I can see many of the same attributes that Coach Stanforth possessed in him, I see Hayes bringing new ideas to the program that might just push us to the next level."
"The team is more than excited about getting Coach Hayes as our new coach," junior Matt Williams (Colorado Springs, Colo.) concurred. "His experience training multiple All-Americans at altitude, going to West Point and understanding the life of a student-athlete will be tremendously helpful. Plus, his knowledge of training techniques and his excitement for impacting our lives all adds up to making him the best coach I think we could have hired. I believe that he is going to bring some great ideas with a new approach that will have an awesome affect on our team."
"Coach Hayes' desire to plan training based on individual workouts is going to be very well received here on the team," co-captain Kenny Grosselin (Ramstein AB, Germany) agreed. "He is the type of coach that wants to know his runners in and out and plan their training accordingly. Having a coach that is that invested in his runners is going to provide solid results from the beginning."
THE MEN'S TEAM
After graduating just two members from last year, the men's team is full of talent and depth. The squad features four seniors and eight juniors, as well as a plethora of sophomore and incoming talent. In addition, the team has an energy that has co-captains Grosselin and van Wyngaarden preparing for great things.
"There is more excitement and energy going into this season than I have seen since I have been here," Grosselin commented. "The team is closer than ever, which makes everyone more willing to go the extra mile during training."
"I expect the upcoming season is going to be one of the best the Academy has seen," van Wyngaarden agreed. "From the team point of view, I would venture to say that we will have the most tight-knit team currently at the Academy. I feel this is the most important aspect of our team. Not only do I think we have exceptional team atmosphere, but from the competitor's point of view, there is no reason that our team should not at least qualify for the NCAA meet and do quite well."
The captains are two of four seniors on the Air Force roster. They join Calvin Glass (Antelope, Calif.) and Ian McFarland (West Plains, Mo.). Grosselin, McFarland and van Wyngaarden competed in every major varsity-level scoring meet for the Falcons, while Glass participated in the first two. van Wyngaarden was the Falcons' top finisher at the Utah Fall Festival, where he won the 52-competitor race. McFarland (fifth) and Grosselin (ninth) also claimed top-10 finishes at the Utah meet.
The eight-member junior class is led by Williams, who was the Falcons' top scorer in two meets as a sophomore. An all-conference honoree and MWC Runner of the Week selection in 2006, Williams won the Wyoming Invitational, while also picking up a team-best 35th-place finish at the NCAA regional meet.
Williams is joined by classmates Joe Curran (Naperville, Ill.), Sean Houseworth (Carlock, Ill.) and Sebastian Ortiz (Columbia, Pa.) as returning letterwinners. Houseworth competed in six meets, including the conference regional meets, en route to winning the Mountain West Conference 10,000-meter title during the outdoor track season. Ortiz gained experience in five meets, including the conference championships, while Curran competed just once during the season.
Four more returners with collegiate experience give the Falcons a dominating junior class. Justin Mason (Fishers, Ind.), who was the team's top finisher at the Air Force Open in 2006, joins Daniel Castle (St. Joseph, Mo.), Parker Cowles (Ramstein AB, Germany) and Kyle Jones (Winter Springs, Fla.) to round out the group.
Six sophomores gained valuable experience last year, running with the Air Force "B" team. These athletes competed in at least four meets and were all instrumental in guiding the Falcons' to their third-straight team title at the Fort Hays State Tiger Invitational.
This strong corps of sophomores includes Austin Fritzke (Mt. Shasta, Calif.), Arthur Grijalva (El Paso, Texas), Zach Nordahl (Molt, Mont.), Thomas Richter (Wrightwood, Calif.), Andy Schweitzer (Macedonia, Ohio) and Ryan Workman (Chapel Hill, N.C.).
Richter, Nordahl and Grijalva all accounted for top-10 finishes at the non-team-scoring Air Force Open, while Fritzke, Schweitzer and Workman each recorded top-20 placements. In addition to finishing within the top half of the field at the Wyoming Invitational, Richter joined Fritzke and Nordahl within the top half of the finishers at the Utah Fall Festival.
This year, the team will welcome sophomore Conor Murphy (Delmar, N.Y.), a transfer from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute that red-shirted his freshman season, and Vincent Gillmore (Warner Robins AFB, Ga.), who joined the cross country team in the off-season.
Murphy was an all-Liberty League selection while at RPI, while Gillmore earned runner-up honors in the 3200-meter run at the Georgia state track and field championships.
Air Force will add six talented freshmen to its roster this season, adding even more depth to the squad. Kyle Goldsmith (Katy, Texas), Brian Lane (Johnsburg, Ill.), Tyler Small (Mercerberg, Pa.), Kyle Southard (Ramstein AB, Germany), Tyler Stanley (Columbus, Ohio) and Justin Tyner (Baxter, Minn.) bring impressive credentials to the Falcons.
The incoming group brings numerous athletic achievements, including MVP honors, all-conference selections and top finishes at their respective state cross country and track championships.
"Overall, I can't explain how excited I am for the upcoming year," van Wyngaarden concluded. "Cross country is going to be an amazing experience with Coach Hayes and we have a great group of seniors that are ready to lead this team to success."
THE WOMEN'S TEAM
There is a large question mark surrounding the women's cross country team, as the squad features a very young squad with numerous new faces. With some of the most experienced runners carrying only a sophomore-class status, the season is difficult to predict.
The main priority of the Falcons will be to recoup the times of two-time MVP Kelly Robinson, who will spend her senior season on the Air Force swim team, and Margaret Frash, who graduated in May. Robinson, the top scorer in four of the team's seven meets last year will be the most noticeable hole for the Falcons to fill.
Backed by impressive rookie campaigns, several sophomores will be looked upon to help fill that void. Sophomore Brittany Morreale (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) was the Falcons' top scorer in two of the three remaining meets, including the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational and the NCAA Regional Championships. Her time of 23:08 at the NCAA Regional Championships is the best of any returning runner. Classmates Katherine Anderson (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and Ally Romanko (Coos Bay, Ore,) also gained valuable experience during their first years at the Academy, competing in every major competition for the Falcons.
"Running in every major meet in the season last year really helped to give me the experience and feel for what big college meets are like," Romanko commented. "The experience of running in the really large meets is crucial to my future success, because it was not something I ever did in high school, but it is something that is pretty common in college (especially for big meets like regionals). I need to know how to run in those kind of big meets where I might just be in the middle of the pack."
Top-10 finishers at the Utah Fall Festival, Morreale and Romanko continued to hone their skills during the track season. Morreale set the program's Freshman Class Record in the 5000-meter run, while Romanko broke the Academy's indoor 800-meter mark, as well as the Freshman Class Record in the outdoor 800-meter.
The second-year trio will be joined by classmate Sara Juback (Eagle River, Alaska), who competed in all of the team meets and as an individual competitor at the Fort Hays Invitational.
Despite spending her sophomore campaign on the injured list, junior Danielle Pozun (Johnstown, Pa.) competed in every meet as a freshman and was selected as captain of the 2007 squad. Pozun is one of just two juniors with collegiate experience. Classmate Danielle Snider (Fishers, Ind.) competed in the first three meets of her sophomore year after joining the team during fall try-outs.
Air Force will also welcome some new faces to the program. Whitney Beck (Eden, Utah), Jessica Drewicz (Collegeville, Pa.), Caitlin Miller (Wadsworth, Ohio), Jessie Stimpson (Ingleside, Ill.), Carrie Tengelsen (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Gloriemar Torre' Santiago (Hope Mills, N.C.) and Katherine Ward (Port Matilda, Pa.) will all look to make an immediate impact on the squad.
THE SCHEDULE
The Falcons will travel to six different states during the regular season, en route to the annual MWC Championships. Air Force opens the 2007 campaign in Laramie, Wyo., on Aug. 31, at the annual Wyoming Invitational. The squad will then travel to Lincoln, Neb., for the Woody Greeno Invitational on Sept. 15, before splitting up for the Louisville Invitational (Louisville, Ky.) and the Rocky Mountain Shootout (Boulder, Colo.) on Sept. 29.
The month of October begins at the Fort Hays Invitational on Oct. 6, in Hays, Kan. That is followed by the prestigious Pre-NCAA Meet on Oct. 13 in Terre Haute, Ind., before the squad closes out the regular season hosting the Air Force Open on Oct. 20, in Colorado Springs.
The championship season begins Oct. 27 with the MWC championships on Oct. 27, in San Diego, Calif. The NCAA Mountain Regional championships will be held in Ogden, Utah, on Nov. 10. The top teams from the regional meet advance to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 19 in Terre Haute, Ind.
THE FINAL WORD
With a new coaching staff, numerous new faces and a renewed sense of excitement regarding the future, the Air Force cross country team looks to take the conference and the nation by storm in 2007.
Players Mentioned
