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8/17/2001
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Welcome Back Issue
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8/17/2001
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Welcome Back Issue
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DO RUN, RUN: Julie Sennot, a senior on the women's cross country team, runs at a Big Ten Conference meet last season. |
By John Wakefield
Staff Writer
After a strong showing last year and the signing of a very successful recruiting class, the women’s cross country team is hoping to earn a trip to the national championships this year.
Last year, after some impressive showings early in the season, the team was marred with injuries that hindered the achievement of team goals.
The team placed sixth at the Big Ten Championships but it wasn’t "as far as we planned to go," said Jackie Carr, a junior on the team.
Carr said that even though they were unable to perform to their expectations, "they really grew as a team last year," which will help them significantly over the course of this season.
While many members of the cross country team went home to train on their own over the summer, several teammates stayed at Purdue to take classes and train for the upcoming season.
"The summer training was hot, full of a lot of morning practices and late night running," said Carr. "My favorite thing about the summer is that a lot of the girls stayed around, and we had a lot of fun and I got to know them really well."
Carr recalled that this summer was "so hot that I fell once on a run really late at night and I did a great ‘tuck and roll.’ Julie Sennot said that was one of the coolest dives she’d ever seen."
Sennot is a returning senior who, along with fellow seniors Barbara Wenger, Mary Tamer and Kim Snyder, will add considerable depth to Purdue’s roster.
"Based on how we performed last year combined with our depth and a great freshman class, this will be the best team I’ve seen since I’ve been at Purdue, by far," Sennot said. "If we can avoid injury, we have a great shot at making it to the nationals.
Along with the new faces of the freshman class, the new season will bring a host of major changes with it.
Purdue has a new cross country course near the Purdue Varsity Soccer Complex on McCormick Road and will be hosting the Indiana Intercollegiates this year. At that meet, cross country teams from almost every college in Indiana, including Division II and III schools, will compete on Sept. 14.
"That will be a really fun race since it’s on our home course," Carr said. "I really hope that we beat IU at that race."
Carr said the toughest meets this season will probably be the Big Ten Championships and the Great Lakes Regional Championships.
"The competition (at the Big Ten Championships) is really good and IU will have a really good team," said Carr.
Twenty-five
teams compete at the Great Lakes Regional Championships. To move on
to the NCAA National Championships, a team must place in the top four.
Another major change in the cross country team is the recent change in the coaching staff.
The former coach of the cross country team, Ben Paolillo, stepped down this summer and now the men’s and women’s cross country teams are combined under the tutelage of Mike Poehlein, the most experienced Purdue track coach.
"It will be really interesting to see how things will be different since this is the only coaching change for both teams since any of us have been here," Sennot said. "The new coach has a lot of experience, has coached several professional athletes and knows a lot about the sport. I think we’ll adapt pretty well."
Also, since both teams have the same coach, the runners will train together.
"Running with the boys will be an added challenge but I’m sure it’ll take us to a higher level," Sennot said.
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