Alabama Women's Cross Country: Preview
8/26/2009 12:00:00 AM
Aug. 26, 2009
The University of Alabama women's cross country team is one year removed from having its best year in nearly a decade and return this season poised to make even more noise within the conference and region. Under cross country coach Randy Hasenbank's guidance over the past three years, the ladies have gradually made their way up the standings at both the conference and region meet turning in their best team finish since 2000 of seventh and eighth in 2008, respectively.
"Our number one goal every year is to continue to improve and improve on our conference standing and taking the necessary steps to finish better in the regional meet each year," Hasenbank said. "It would be great if we could finish in the top three or four in either of those meets. Obviously our goal is to win and get a spot in the national meet but it will take a great effort from each individual."
Even with the squad making drastic improvements over the past few years and having the best year in recent memory, the staff continues to expect more. Though it was a huge step forward in 2008, this team will not be satisfied until they are standing on the podium hoisting the hardware.
"At the end of last year, the number one point was that seventh at SECs was a solid team finish but none of us can be happy with a seven," Hasenbank recalled. "They know what it takes and as young runners, they really handled everything well last year and now have put themselves in position to compete at a high level."
There are few new faces joining the Crimson Tide this season as every member of the top seven runners return in 2009. In 2008, this team competed with 10 underclassmen on a roster of just 13 ladies and this year showcase a roster of 15 with nine underclassmen. The coaching staff, however, does not like to use youth as an excuse to not compete well each week his athletes toe the line.
"To me youth isn't a factor," Hasenbank said. "Sometimes it's easy to use youth as an excuse for why you don't necessarily accomplish very much early on in your career. I don't like to look at it that way and instead look at it as a talented roster with a lot of ability."
The Crimson Tide will be led by returning sophomores Sara Vaughn and Kelsey Johnson who were both named All-SEC and All-South Region last year. Vaughn led the squad in every race and qualified for the NCAA Championships while Johnson missed the championship meet by just one spot. These are the two ladies that will provide the support at the front of the pack week in and week out along with junior Haley Moody who is coming off a year in which she had a series of setbacks. If the Crimson Tide can get all three of them healthy and fit on the same day, this team can contend for titles.
"This is a sport for people who like to train and love to compete as well," Hasenbank said. "These girls know what it takes and have the ability to provide those bangers up front that we need for us to be competitive. Those three could really form a great nucleus to help launch us to that next level of success."
Also returning as sophomores are twins Leigh and Sarah Gilmore who showed tremendous improvement in the spring on the track. Though they did not compete at the USA Junior Track and Field Championships, these two posted qualifying marks and will be big players on what Alabama can accomplish in 2009. Sophomore Andrea Torske returns after being a consistent top five runner for the Crimson Tide last season.
In addition to the returning talent, Coach Hasenbank added even more depth to the squad with the addition of freshman Katlyn Will who has won several Mississippi high school state titles and led her team to team titles throughout her career. Also joining the Crimson Tide is in-state recruit Elsbeth Denton who finished runner-up at the cross country state meet in 2007.
"I think this is the best situation from a coaching standpoint that I've been in since I've been here because there is a roster that goes nine or ten deep with ability," Hasenbank said. "You start counting our top returners, a couple newcomers and a couple improving and we're in a situation where every spot on the roster is competitive. To be in those top seven spots, you're going to have to come back in shape to get one and you're going to have to compete well to keep it."
Alabama will open the 2009 season with the Belmont Opener on Sept. 4 in Nashville, Tenn. before hosting the 21st Annual Crimson Classic two weeks later at the Harry Pritchett Running Park on Sept. 18. The Tide won last year's meet with a score of 38 points.
The squad will preview the site of the SEC Championships when it faces conference rival Ole Miss at the Ole Miss Invite on Sept. 26 in Oxford, Miss. The Crimson Tide will then travel to Stillwater, Okla. for the OSU Jamboree hosted by Oklahoma State University on Oct. 3. Before starting the championship portion of the schedule, Alabama will get a look at the NCAA Championship course in Terre Haute, Ind. while competing at Pre-Nationals on Oct. 17.
"The front half of the schedule is very similar to how we've started the last couple of years," Hasenbank said. "The schedule gets a little more competitive with the OSU Jamboree, which is a very competitive meet with a lot of different schools we don't usually see. The team is going to be a little bit more mature, we're still young with a lot of sophomores on the squad, but I think it's time for them to see how we stack up. Also, hosting the region meet is a great event for us and it's a great way to promote the sport."
As previously mentioned, the SEC Championships will be held in Oxford, Miss. on Oct. 31. In 2008, the Crimson Tide finished seventh, their best finish since 2000 when they placed fifth. Alabama will host the NCAA South Regional for the first time since 2004 when they finished 15th. The squad posted an eighth place finish last season after not even scoring as a team the previous year. The fifth place finish was the highest since 1999 when they finished seventh. The NCAA Championships return to Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 23.
"We still don't have a roster deep enough to where we have a margin for error," Hasenbank said. "Every athlete has to stay healthy and come back better than where they were at the end of last year and they know they need to take another step physically as well as mentally to be ready."
