Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Cross Country Picked No. 1 In Patriot League Preseason Poll
8/28/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Aug. 28, 2007
2007\ Cross\ Country\ Patriot\ League\ Preseason\ Poll
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's cross country team notched 96 points for the no. 1 spot in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, released today. The Bison collected 13 first-place votes in the poll.
Bucknell is set to open the 2007 season at home Friday for the Bison Open, welcoming Kutztown, Susquehanna, and Scranton in the first meet of the season, starting at 5:30 p.m.
The women are ready to defend their 2006 Patriot League Championship title. For the 2007 season, the Bison welcome promising newcomers and return experienced upperclassmen, including four all-league runners from last year.
Leading the way is senior Erin Cranmer-Hart (Slippery Rock, Pa./Slippery Rock Area), who was the runner-up at the Patriot League Championships last year, earning second-team All-Patriot League honors. Cranmer-Hart finished behind 2007 graduate Leanna Nastase, at the 2006 league championship meet. This season, she is the top-returning runner in the Patriot League.
"I believe Erin not only has an opportunity to win a Patriot League Championship, but she also has an opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Championships," said head coach Kevin Donner, "She has really improved a lot throughout her career and I believe she is in a position now where she can make a run for it."
In addition to Cranmer-Hart, senior Christine Totten (Perkasie, Pa./Pannridge), junior Nicole Falcaro (Dingman's Ferry, Pa./Delaware Valley) and junior Gillian Nordquist (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) make up the group of all-league runners returning for the Bison in 2007.
"Totten, Falcaro, and Nordquist are three athletes who have worked extremely hard the last few years and all three of them are really ready to step up for us. We expect them to do well at the Patriot League Championships, but also at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships," said Donner. Both Falcaro and Nordquist scored for the Bison at last year's Patriot League Championships, finishing ninth and 10th respectively.
In terms of depth, the Bison will look to senior Jennifer Grant (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy), junior Kim Hassett (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth), senior Offeibea Hanson-Hall (Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle), and sophomore Gabrielle Skovira (Park Ridge, N.J./Park Ridge) to build on their strong showings last season.
According to Coach Donner, Grant has been a consistent runner the past three seasons and Hassett has shown improvement throughout her career, now looking ready to step up as an upperclassman.
"Offeibea really established herself as one of our top middle distance runners this past outdoor track season and we are hoping that will carry over to cross country," said Donner, "Gabrielle Skovira proved to be one of our top freshmen last year and ended up scoring in the steeplechase at the Patriot League Championships during the outdoor track and field season."
Freshman Alexa Griffiths (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua) and freshman Sarah Moniz (Topsfield, Mass./Masconomet Regional) are two promising newcomers to the squad. In preseason training, Griffiths and Moniz seem to be the most refined of their class and are expected to provide depth throughout the season, according to Donner.
After beginning the 2007 season at home on Friday, Aug. 31 in the Bison Open, Bucknell will travel to Bloomsburg, Pa. on Saturday, Sept. 8 for the Bloomsburg Invitational and then to Altoona, Pa. on Saturday, Sept. 22 for the Juniata Invitational. Also on Sept. 22, the Bison will have runners compete in the Western Ontario Invitational in London, Ontario. To close out the regular season, Bucknell will run in the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa. on Friday, Sept. 28 and at the Leopard Invitational in Easton, Pa. on Saturday, Oct. 13.
The 2007 Patriot League Championships are set to take place on Saturday, Oct. 27 in Eason, Pa. and this year's Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships will be hosted by Lehigh University on Saturday, Nov. 10. The 2007 ECAC Championships are set to take place on Saturday, Nov. 17 in Bronx, N.Y. and the NCAA Championships will run Monday, Nov. 19 in Terre Haute, Ind.
"Our goal is to repeat as Patriot League Champions and we would love to finish top-five at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional meet," said Donner. He feels that although solid runners graduated from last year's squad, this year's team is good enough to match the first-place Patriot League finish and the fifth-place NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional finish by Bucknell last season. In addition to this goal, Donner hopes that some runners will look toward the NCAA Championships.
