XC Preseason Preview

For release Sepember 7, 2006:

(Courtesy of the Drury Sports Information Office)

With what coach Jon Van Arkel believes might be his deepest squads in five seasons, the Drury University cross country teams kick off their season Saturday by competing in the University of Missouri-Rolla Miner Invitational.

The women's 5-kilometer race starts at 10 a.m., followed by the men's at 11, with both held at the UMR Golf Course. Drury coach Jon Van Arkel expects the meet to also be the starting line for a successful season for both Panther squads.

The Drury women, in particular, feature a veteran squad led by a senior class of Veronica Bible, Christina Hurt, Jaimee Hoffman, Gabrielle Wilson and Jessica (Stong) Zephyrs. Their experience and leadership, along with that of juniors Elizabeth Hurford and Emily Schmittel, will help the Panthers break in a solid freshman group of Lindsey Bennett, Stephanie Cowherd, Sara Murzynsky and Kimberly Shigeno.

Bible (19th) and Hurford (34th) led the way for the Panthers in their inaugural Great Lakes Valley Conference championship meet last fall, and were Drury's top finishers in the Great Lakes Regional at 52nd and 65th, respectively.

But throw in the strength of Zephyrs, who was off to a strong start last season before a leg injury sidelined her down the stretch, with the talent of the incoming group, and Van Arkel likes the chances for this squad to prosper.

On the men's side, it appears to be a wide-open competition to become one of the seven runners who hits the course for meets.

The Panthers have just three seniors on the roster - John Schraft, Avery Snelson and Kevin Zimmerman - but also feature a host of talented underclassmen for Van Arkel to work with as he enters his fifth season at the Panthers' helm.

Among the top returnees are junior Chad Joliff, who led the Panther efforts in several races early last season before being slowed by an illness, and classmate Ross MacDonald, as well as sophomores Tim Short and Matt Van Arkel. MacDonald and Van Arkel are coming off redshirt seasons due to injuries.

"I expect those three (Joliff, MacDonald and Van Arkel) to have an impact this season," coach Van Arkel said.

The Panthers have seven freshmen on the roster - Glenn Buttrum, Andy Chase, Geoff Hughes, Brad Lyons, Andrew Montgomery, Kerryn Sarwansingh and Charles Yeager. Van Arkel believes several could crack the Drury top five this season, and the group as a whole helps build the depth necessary to outlast the usual rash of in-season injuries that can play a collegiate cross country team.

"You've got to have the depth to still be competitive," Van Arkel says.

"In a sense, this is kind of a rebuilding year, but I expect us to be at least as good as last season."

After years of dominating the Heartland Conference, the Panthers have found the step up in competition to the GLVC an extreme challenge. Van Arkel believes he's put together back-to-back recruiting classes on both sides that, in time, will be able to contend for league and regional honors.

"Last year we graduated our initial four-year class of runners, and those seniors developed a lot and became good runners who provided us with competitive teams," Van Arkel said. "But every year, our recruits have gotten stronger and stronger. I really think we're now substantially stronger than the original group of freshmen we brought in to start the program, and that's the kind of incremental increase in quality you have to have."

Elected team captains for the Panthers are Zimmerman and MacDonald for the men and Bible and Hoffman on the women's side.

Van Arkel also has added a new assistant coach in Mark Millsap, a Drury alumnus and local running and fitness training afficianado.