On Sat, Oct. 27, the Johns Hopkins Men's and Women's Cross-Country teams will compete in the Centennial Conference Championships in Carlisle, Pa. The women's team looks to continue the improvement that they have seen over the past several years. The team has gone from a ninth place finish in 1998 to seventh place in 1999 to fifth place in 2000.
"We have shown consistent improvement each year," Head Coach Bobby Van Allen said. ";This year, I would like to be able to again improve." Van Allen, who is going into his third Conference Championships as head coach, firmly believes that this year's team is much better than last year's team and expects more out of them.
The problem, Van Allen says, is that as the Jays have improved, so has the rest of the Conference, with Dickinson and Haverford both in the top 20 in the nation. Van Allen also sees strong competition in Gettysburg, which he believes will be among the top 25 teams in the next poll released. The team hopes to finish in the top four teams, and believes that if everyone is healthy by the time of the meet, third place is a definite possibility. Runners Heather Blair, Tiffany Miceli, and Hilary Knipe are all top contenders that hope to earn conference honors.
"The team has progressed nicely throughout the year and I think we will be ready this Saturday to race," said Van Allen.
The men's team, which has finished in fifth place in each of the past two years, is shooting for a third or perhaps second place finish. Though schools such as Haverford, which is ranked fifth in the nation, and other tough teams such as Gettysburg, Dickinson, and Swarthmore, will present a challenge, the team believes it can beat most of the teams in the field. Steven Chu is looking to earn first or second team All-Conference honors, and several other runners, such as Jamie Parks, David Courson, and John Apperson, are top-25 contenders.
"Both the men's and women's teams are ready to run really big races and put it all out on the line at this meet," remarked Van Allen.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.