2006 season preview

September 8, 2006

NORTON, MA- In the absence of seeing results at this stage of the game, Wheaton College head men's and women's cross country coach Paul Carr is relying on conveying an important message to his combined 20-member teams as the Lyons prepare for the 2006 season. That message pertains to supplying examples of former athletes who raised the bar during their Wheaton careers.

Carr, along with third-year assistant coach and former track All-American Kim Spence '04, realizes his athletes expect immediate results but that there's more to the process. "We've got to be able to show the accomplishments of some of our past athletes, something tangible," said the eighth-year coach. "We have to work hard in September and October and hopefully reap the benefits come November. Beginning with the end in mind is important, and I believe that's the toughest thing for the teams to see right now."

Injuries and depth were Wheaton's Achilles heels in 2005, a season that saw the women finish second at the 10-team New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship and the men place seventh among seven competing teams. Indicating the coaching staff has to realize what went wrong last year while addressing some of the concerns, Carr is taking the approach from an analytical standpoint.

"I try and keep the emotion out of it," stated Carr. "Thinking like an engineer, we've got to ask ourselves where the structure failed. We'll determine where things went wrong and correct them. Making adjustments and tweaking the training schedule are certain to come into play. What we have to do is get a full team to the line. If we do that we should surpass last year's results."

Coming in with the same expectations as years past, which include winning the NEWMAC meets and reaching NCAA nationals, Carr acknowledges the challenges that lie ahead. "A lot of this is going to depend on how fast we can develop the younger athletes," said Carr. "I think we can sneak up on people. We don't have to be the best or fastest team going into the league meet. It takes a little more planning than that. We'll throw a few wrinkles at people that they might not expect."

With another year of growth behind them, the women will key in on the development of last year's freshmen. Of the seven scoring members on a team, Carr is counting on a strong top three to lead the way, but he believes it's up to the coaching staff to develop four, five, six and seven. "You win it with your back four," added Carr. "We should be able to trade our top three with any team."

Leading that charge is a two-time all-conference performer in junior Megan Brousseau (Attleboro, MA/Attleboro), who was the runner up at the 2005 NEWMAC meet and 26th-place finisher at the NCAA New England Championship. Lone senior Jennifer Ziello (Litchfield, CT/Litchfield), who assumes the captain role this fall, placed 42nd at last year's conference championship while competing at the NCAA regional meet.

Juniors Abbe Bosk (Narberth, PA/Springside), Jessie Buonaccorsi (Shutesbury, MA/Amherst Regional) and Mary Ostrander (San Diego, CA/Francis Parker School) return to the team following action in October's NEWMAC meet, with Bosk being the fifth Wheaton runner to cross the finish line and 24th overall.

A strong core of sophomore runners is back following impressive first-year campaigns, as Lily Calderwood (Harvard, MA/Bromfield School), Amanda Rawson (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) and Lauren Reddy (Walnut Creek, CA/Carondelet) make their returns. Calderwood, an all-conference track athlete, and Rawson posted back-to-back finishes with 18th- and 19th-place marks at the conference championship with a one-second differential, while Reddy was one of eight returning runners to compete at the NEWMACs.

Completing the 11-member squad and new to the program are sophomore Kathryn Paar (Cambridge, MA/Arlington Catholic) and freshmen Katrina Hegeman (Dighton, MA/Dighton-Rehoboth Regional) and Katie Pratt (Litchfield, CT/Litchfield).

Like the women, the men welcome back just one senior, captain Matt Peirce (Lincoln, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional). Peirce and junior Pat Benson (Foxboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) are the Lyons' top two returning runners, with Benson taking 28th and Peirce 30th at the conference meet. The tandem also comprised the Blue and White's top two finishers at the New England meet.

A trio of sophomores round out the list of returners, as Scott Clark (East Longmeadow, MA/East Longmeadow), Scott Hafferkamp (Merrimack, NH/Merrimack) and Dan Libon (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) comprised the fourth, fifth and sixth positions in the Wheaton lineup at last year's NEWMAC Championship.

The foursome of newcomers includes junior Joe Fowler (Farmington, ME/Mount Blue), sophomore David Ng'ang'a (Subukia, Kenya/United World College of South East Asia), and freshmen Andrew Brunhofer (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) and Miles Souza (Norton, MA/Saint Sebastian's School), and Carr's main focus is to help them understand college racing.

"On the men's side, there is a 3,000-meter difference from high school to college," stated Carr. "There's a realization of 3,000 more meters to go. They'll have to get over that mental block in addition to realizing that the competition is a whole lot tougher. What cut it in high school isn't going to cut it in college."

Fowler, who is also a two-year member of the Wheaton swim team, intends to be a two-sport athlete for at least this year, while Ng'ang'a started out with the cross country program a year ago. Brunhofer is slated to compete on the track and field team, and Souza is the son of head track and field coach Paul Souza, who has guided the women's team to eight national titles during his tenure.

Understanding that the future of Wheaton cross country appears bright, as the majority of runners will be a part of the programs for the next two years, Carr cautions his athletes in looking too far ahead. "As an athlete you only have today," said Carr. "This goes for my whole coaching career as well. You never know what's going to happen tomorrow. We have to seize the opportunity and take what's given to us when it's given."

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 2/15/07.
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