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With its top two runners form last season back and what might be the top class of recruits ever, the upcoming season looks very promising. The team looks to climb back into the New England top 10 and recapture the Little East Title it last won in 1994. The schedule should provide the team with plenty of challenges. With the addition of an excellent Keene State program the Little East Championship should prove to be even more of an incentive. USM will host the Maine Collegiate Championships on October 11 and the NCAA Regional Qualifier on November 15. Other meets scheduled include a weekend trip to Montreal to take on the top Division I Canadian schools, a meet at Franklin Park on October 4 that will serve as a preview of the NCAA Championship, and the New England Open Championships, also at Franklin Park. Returning Runners: The team will be led by Eleanore Anderson, coming off a super 1996 campaign (All State, All Conference, All ECAC III, All New England III, and an NCAA qualifier). Penny Osborne in her first year of running, had a terrific year, running # 3 for the team at the NCAA Regionals. Jen Carroll, really a long sprinter, filled in admirably to cover the # 5 position in 1996. Transfers & Upper Classmen: Julie Skillings, one of the state's top high school sprinters, went out for cross country at UMaine and worked her way onto the varsity. Still a relative newcomer to distance running, there is no telling how far she can go. Jen Cole ran her first year of spring track in 1997 and now is about to give cross country a shot. Amy Charland, a Southern Vermont transfer, has a great work ethic and will continue to improve. The Class of 2001: Alyssa Bergeron is another runner with a solid background in distance running. One of Methuen (MA) High's top runners, she brings a PR of 12:31 in the two mile. Michelle Cruver passed up cross country her freshman year, but is now ready to go. She had some excellent performances while at Wells H.S. including a state qualifying run at the '95 Western Regionals. Kathy DeGrandpre is a runner with substantial potential as she enters only her second season of cross country competition. Hollie Harnish is best known for her track exploits (2:21 @ 800m) but is expected to transfer her speed and success to the cross country scene. Julie Lagin-Nasse, the Maine Sunday Telegram's 1995 Runner of the Year, added the mile title to her long list of state championships this spring. She should have an immediate impact at the collegiate level. Jen Snyder, the 4th Bay Stater on this year's team, captained and ran number one for her Auburn High team. Her best years lay ahead. Deri Ann White of Foxcroft Academy may be the best kept secret in Maine. She finished just 5 seconds behind Lagin-Nasse at the '95 States (2nd all class), but was injured and unable to compete at the '96 championship meets. Jen Wilson has run some solid cross country and was a key member of Skowhegan High's emerging track & field program. |