Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Ready to Defend Patriot League Cross Country Titles
10/26/2000 8:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Oct. 26, 2000
LEWISBURG, PA --- The Bucknell men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Saturday to defend their team titles at the 2000 Patriot League Cross Country Championships.
The Bison will compete against the United States Military Academy,
Colgate University, the College of the Holy Cross, Lafayette College
and Lehigh University on Lehigh's Goodman Campus course.
Head coach Art Gulden, currently in his 31st year at Bucknell
and a seven-time Patriot League Coach of the Year honoree, is
confidant that his teams will perform well in their attempt to
repeat as conference champions, particularly the women's squad.
"I think the ladies are prohibitive favorites and should
win the race. However, they need to go into the race and take
no prisoners. If they go in with the attitude that they are going
to just have to show up, then they might find themselves in a
race with someone," commented the veteran mentor.
"The men, on the other hand, really need to bounce back from
a poor performance in Iowa. The race should be a toss up between
us and Army, but you can never tell until they actually get out
on the course and have to perform."
The women enter the race with a 4-1 dual meet record, while the
men are 7-1. In their most recent competition, the women finished
29th in the Pre-NCAA Meet in Iowa and the men were 52nd.
While the women's race is not as much of a concern for Gulden, his philosophy for the men's championship race will remain as it has for the past 30 years - stay in a pack and be patient.
"If we are going to beat Army we have to run in a pack.
They won't - they didn't against Navy. Our kids have to be patient
for over three miles and let the Army kids take the pressure."
The Lehigh course is relatively flat, and Gulden feels in the
long run that could help the Bison. "They have more distance
runners then we have, and we have more miler-types this year,
and it's an easy course, so it should really help us in the end.
But who knows, there's no real clear-cut advantage."
Depth might also be a positive factor for Bucknell. "We
are deeper then they are, and we are healthy," said Gulden.
"While our top group is pretty much a constant, anyone of
our final six runners has the ability to step up, and that might
make the difference."
Bucknell's women will again be led by junior co-captain Becki
Marshall (Montgomery, N.Y./Pine Bush Central). Marshall finished
96th at the NCAA meet last year and 69th at the Pre-NCAA Meet two weeks ago, and Coach Gulden knows she is on a
different level. "I'll probably hold Becki back in the race,
but she is by far the prohibitive favorite."
Other top performers for the women thus far have been sophomores
Theresa Dennis (Wilkes Barre, Pa./Hanover Area) and Andrea Beisser
(Ames, Iowa/Ames), juniors Chris Crowe (State College, Pa./State
College) and Kelly McConnell (Danville, Pa./Danville), and senior
co-captain Mandy Youmell (Weedsport, N.Y./Weedsport).
The men's team will be led by senior Kevin Weatherill (Swedesboro,
N.J./The Peddie School) and sophomore Greg Costello (Pittsburgh,
Pa./Mount Lebanon). Weatherill has finished first for the Bison
in two of the team's races, while Costello has placed first twice,
second and third for Bucknell this season.
Other top performers for the men include seniors Brad Wertz (Altoona,
Pa./Bellwood-Antis), Dana Carr (Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads) and
Josh Emery (Dushore, Pa./Sullivan County), and junior Evan Honeyfield
(Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro).
Bucknell has won the men's championship the last three years,
and six of the ten years that the Patriot League has been in existence.
The women have won the team title the past two years, and made
their first-ever NCAA appearance last fall as an at-large selection.
The men's 8,000-meter race will begin at 11:00 a.m., followed
by the women's 6,000-meter run at noon. The top-10 individual
finishers will garner All-Patriot League status.
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