2011 MSOE cross country preview
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Published: 09/08/2011 |
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The MSOE men's cross country team is coming off a fifth place finish at the 2010 Northern Athletics Conference Championship. This year, the team will attempt to take the conference title for the first time since 2007.
"I would expect a better season because of being a year more mature and able to deal with the training and competition at a higher level," said head coach Larry Gardner.
Returning athletes expected to lead the way for MSOE include seniors Matt Coursey (Marengo, Ill./Marengo Community) and Keen Unangst (Berlin, Wis./Berlin), juniors Ben Peterson (Racine, Wis./William Horlick), Jake Schneider (Waunakee, Wis./Waunakee Community), sophomores Steve Grousnick (Niles, Ill./Maine East) and Trevor Koziczkowski (Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH). Other veterans include seniors Joe Klimowicz (Twin Lake, Minn./Whitehall) and Mike Olk (Marengo, Ill./ Marengo Community) and sophomores Mark Arata (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township), Keith Hamilton (Zion, Ill./Zion Benton), Milan Johnson (Milford, Iowa/Okoboji) and Terrence Norris (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor).
Newcomers to the team this season are senior Tim Sonnenburg (Luebeck, Germany) and freshmen Andrew Bush (De Pere, Wis./De Pere), Brian Janus (Green Bay, Wis./Preble), Jeffrey Sparks (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington) and Nik Stasinopoulous (Franklin Park, Ill./East Leyden)
"Many of our team members are very dedicated and work hard to produce the best results," Gardner said. "All of the team needs to work smart and understand their bodies better. They need to know when to push and when to back off from the intensity. Many of the athletes are overloaded from the pressure of the academics and do not get the needed sleep to perform well. They need to learn to schedule their time better."
A familiar name is back on the MSOE women's cross country roster and she adds experience for this season. Senior Amanda Heller (New Holstein, Wis./New Holstein) returns to the team in 2011. Heller was Second Team All-NAC in 2009 as she finished 20th at the NAC Championships.
"Cross country is a team sport and athletes must work together to get quality results," Gardner said. "Athletes are responsible for their accomplishments. The coach must establish the environment that will produce the best results. If the offseason training was done by the team members then it will show up at the end of the season."
The women's roster also includes juniors Melody Konchal (Roseville, Minn./Roseville Area), Holly Phelps (Hartland, Wis./Pewaukee) and Anete Zagare (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township), sophomore Larissa Boesiger (Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers) and freshmen Megan Haefs (Crystal, Minn./Perpich Center for Arts Education) and Kate Mauk (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) as well as another newcomer in senior Julia Schulz (Hamburg, Germany/SAS).
Last season, the women's team placed ninth at the NAC Championships. This year's first meet will be Saturday, Sept. 10 at the UW-Parkside Midwest Open in Somers, Wis. The NAC Championships will take place Saturday, Oct. 29 in Kenosha, Wis.
