The 2010 women’s cross country season will unfold with faster times and stronger team performances, but my coaching staff and I hope for much more. The team will find more success this season if they work together early. The first half of the season will be the races the team will most likely find a top-three finish. The team is equally split with experienced and incoming runners, and the group of seven will need each other to achieve success early in the season. The ladies will learn to rely and believe in each other on race day.
The team was strengthened last year by the headline-stealing Elizabeth Williams from A.I High School in Delaware. Liz controlled the front of the Goldey-Beacom pack in every race last year. She did so well in some of her races that she set a school record on the home course and had a season of personal bests.
Another sophomore from the local area is Alyssa Murray from Hodgson Vo Tech. She was consistently the team’s third finisher in 2009. She had her best performance late in the season in New York City where she placed 22nd. This helped boost the team to its best finish of the year (6th out of 12 teams). The women’s cross country program needs more races like that one where everyone is fighting hard for each other.
This year’s freshmen class is very similar to last year’s where two proven high school distance runners are motivated to help improve the team. Symone Stewart from Elkton, Md. will start the season with the potential to be one of the college’s best runners. Symone is coming off of a very successful high school career and we expect her winning attitude to translate into many fast performances this season. Symone was All-County and ran very well in the Maryland state meet this past year. Her high school teammate Carly Mitchell is also attending GBC this year. Conley is counting on Carly to pick up were she left off in high school. She improved her times in every meet she ran. Carly will find a positive group of runners in GBC’s middle pack. She will be side-by-side with the Murray sisters, Brittney and Alyssa.
Brittney Murray (Sr.) has been faster every year and is already on the All-Time list for the 5k and the 6k. The younger runners can hopefully follow her to All-Time performances of their own, and in doing so, help Brittney finish her last season with more personal bests. The team needs Brittney to hit her fastest times in the early meets and be a strong leader during the week. Brit runs her best after strong weeks in practice and coming into camp in shape will be one of the keys to better team performances.
Two more runners who will be asked to run at a higher level will be incoming freshman Tigan Frisby and second-year runner Jessica Cato. Tigan will also join Jessica on the 4x100m in Spring track. Tigan qualified for the Delaware state meet in the 100m dash and ran a time of 13.36.
It should be a big year for this team, and these ladies have the ability to create a new attitude toward competition.
