Bears Hope to Rebuild in 2003

Coming off the most successful season in school history, the 2002 Women's Cross Country Team did not quite live up to expectations due primarily to injuries to 3 of the team's top runners.  Despite this, the Bears did manage to win two meet championships and record six of the Top 25 fastest times ever at Shawnee State. The Bears defeated 68 of the 121 teams against which they ran.  With three of the team's top five runners returning and the addition of six new runners, Coach Larry Mangus expects an improvement on the Bears' 10th place finish at the AMC/NAIA Region IX Championship Meet.

The ten-meet schedule will pose a challenge to the young squad.  It includes the 6th Annual Shawnee State Invitational, the Hanover Invitational, the Centre College Invitational, Cedarville University's Friendship Invitational, the Greater Louisville Classic, the Greensboro Hagen Stone Classic, the All-Ohio Cross Country Championship, the Wilmington Fall Classic, the Gettysburg Invitational, and the AMC/NAIA Region IX Championship in Latrobe, PA.  The NAIA Championship will be held in Louisville, KY.

SSU returns six letterwinners from last year's team.  They are junior Lindsay Allen (South Lebanon, OH), and sophomores Sadie Carson (Morrow, OH), Kristyn Allen (South Lebanon, OH), Jackie Dolan (Goshen, OH), Jennifer Henman (Springfield, OH), and Katelyn Frost (Sunbury, OH).  Henman led the team with five top-ten finishes.  She recorded the school-record time of 20:11 at the 5th Annual Shawnee State Invitational.  Jackie Dolan landed on the top-25 list twice.

The freshman class is composed of Megan Ball (Londonderry, OH), Robin Capal (Fairfield, OH), Sara Crosbie (Springfield, OH), Candice Eagon (Struthers, OH), Ashley Meadows (Athens, OH), and Raycen Spreng (Loudonville, OH).

"This is a very young team with great potential," said Mangus.  "The returning runners have worked extremely hard during the off season and they are much improved.  The incoming freshmen are very, very talented.  They will all challenge for spots on the travel squad.  I fully expect to rewrite the SSU Women's Cross Country record book by the end of the season."