Cross-Country improving but not ready for primetime

On Oct. 13, the Hopkins mens and womens cross country teams competed with Division I schools in the University of Maryland Invitational and came away with somewhat disappointing results. The men finished sixth out of six teams, while the women placed fifth out of seven teams, only 13 points away from third-place Towson.

"Basically the meet didn't go too well," head coach Bobby Van Allen remarked.

Sophomore Heather Blair led the women with a seventh place finish and a personal-record time of 19:56. The meet marked Blair's return to the team's lineup. Junior Hilary Knipe, who had been the top finisher for the Jays in the last four meets, finished in 23rd place at 20:31, while freshman Tiffany Miceli grabbed 28th place with a time of 20:42. The women were somewhat short-handed, as two of the top seven runners, freshman Peggy Chu and senior Stephanie Black, were out.

"The women ran really strong today, even without two of our key runners. We will take a lot of experience out of this meet which will help us prepare for our Conference Championships in two weeks," Van Allen commented.

For the men, Senior John Apperson led the pack for the second straight week with a 27th place finish at 28:02. Junior Dave Courson fol lowed with a 33rd place finish at a time of 28:38, and junior Jamie Parks finished in 38th place with a time of 28:56.

Sophomore Steven Chu suffered an injury at the meet and was forced to withdraw. Freshmen Eric Scrivner and Dan Raposa were both out due to illness.

"The men didn't fare as well, as we are still very shorthanded," Van Allen explained.

The teams will return to action on Oct. 27 at the Centennial Conference Championships in Carlisle, Pa. Van Allen hopes that his runners who have been injured throughout the season will be able to run at the meet.

"Although we came up short against some of the top area teams, we had a strong showing as many people on the team realized that they aren't too far off beating some quality Division I opponents," said Van Allen. "With the improvement this team has made throughout the season, coupled with their overwhelming determination and perseverance, I don't doubt for a second that this team will be ready for the Conference Championships in two weeks.