Big East Preview
October 25, 2007 01:31 PM | General
October 25, 2007
 Asselin |
 Grandt |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The No. 19-ranked West Virginia University women’s cross country team will race at the 2007 BIG EAST Championship on Saturday, Oct. 27, at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. The women’s 6K event will start at 11:50 a.m., following the conclusion of the men’s race.
West Virginia is enjoying its fourth consecutive week in the Top 25 of the USTFCCCA coaches’ poll and figures to factor heavily in Saturday’s race. The Mountaineers are among a handful of teams who have a legitimate shot at winning the league crown Saturday.
“This is probably the first time that we have ever gone to the league championship and felt like we are serious contenders for a top three finish, with a shot to win it,” Head Coach Sean Cleary says. “To have a shot to win this championship is a testament to the hard work and focus of this young team.”
E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park is the site for the 2007 BIG EAST Championship. The race has rotated between Boston’s Franklin Park and New York’s Van Courtlandt Park over the past 25 years. The unfamiliarity of the course could play a major part in determining the winner.
“Running at Louisville makes this year’s championship the fairest in league history,” Cleary says. “Only one team (Louisville) has run the course before. We are all going in on the same page so there should not be an advantage for any team.”
Five different league schools have been ranked this season with defending BIG EAST champion Providence being the only school to break into the top 10 this season. The Friars are currently ranked No. 22 and Coach Ray Treacy’s squad has won two of the last three conference titles.
Georgetown jumped up 11 spots this week from No. 22 to No. 11 in the coaches’ poll after an impressive fifth-place showing at Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind. The Hoyas, led by junior Melissa Grelli, finished ahead of then-No. 7 Rice, No. 14 Colorado State and No. 16 Boston College.
“Georgetown is the favorite based on their Pre-Nationals finish, but to count Ray Treacy and his Providence team out of the mix would be foolish,” Cleary says. “Between Georgetown and Providence, they combine for the most NCAA Championships of any pair of schools in the sport. Villanova is the winningest team in cross country history, so the BIG EAST, in my opinion, is the No. 1 cross country conference traditionally in the country.”
Cleary is expecting every school will bring their A-game for the conference championship. Teams like Notre Dame, Syracuse and Villanova have been flying under the radar and could surprise teams.
“They are well coached and could make some noise this weekend,” Cleary says. “They will be looking to surprise the top three favorites.
In WVU’s last competitive race, the Mountaineers won the National Open hosted by Penn State in University Park, Pa., on Oct. 12. WVU sophomore Marie-Louise Asselin was the race’s individual champion out of 278 competitors and the Mountaineers had three top 10 finishers at the 6K race.
“Marie-Louise has shown herself to be a contender for the BIG EAST title,” Cleary says. “Georgetown’s Melissa Grelli and Providence’s Danette Doetzel and Marie-Louise, I would say are the three with the best chance.”
If Asselin should win that would make her WVU’s first BIG EAST Champion in cross country. West Virginia’s lineup for Saturday is likely to feature sophomores Keri Bland and Clara Grandt, and freshmen Kaylyn Christopher and Kate Harrison. Morgantown native Maria Dalzot will also likely see action along with team captain Alison Spiker.
“Keri Bland has been closing the gap on some of the best runners in the country all season,” Cleary says. “Should Keri commit herself to running with the leaders, she has all the tools to run with her teammate. Clara (Grandt) is continuing the finest season of her career to solidify one of the best 1-2-3 punches on the East Coast. I’ve also been very impressed with our freshmen, Kate (Harrison) and Kaylyn (Christopher).”
Last year, an inexperienced Mountaineer squad posted a surprising sixth place finish at the meet after placing 12th a year earlier. Now as one of the favorites in 2007, Cleary says that he doesn’t expect it to affect his team.
“This team is as aggressive as I’ve ever coached” he said. “They will get out run as hard as they can and let the chips fall where they may.”
