2010 Men's XC Season Preview

Men's Cross Country VMIKeydets.com

2010 Men's XC Season Preview

The 2010 VMI Cross Country season will begin Friday, Sept. 3 at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, as the Keydets host the VMI Cross Country Relays for the second consecutive year. Admission to the unique event is free.

The 2009 season for the men's team was one of highs and lows. The team won the Big South Preview meet, defeating a Liberty team that was heavily favored despite not running eventual NCAA Champion Sam Chelanga. The squad returned to the same High Point, N.C. course weeks later and struggled, finishing fourth, and will look to improve upon that this year.

Leading the charge will be 2008 All-Big South runner Ermin Mujezinovic, who was seventh at last year's Big South Preview meet. Mujezinovic is one of this year's team captains. Two-time NCAA Track Championship qualifier, Felix Kitur, also returns after finishing 19th at last year's Big South Cross Country Championships. Kitur was VMI's #2 runner at that meet, as the #1 time for the Keydets came from freshman Andrey Dmitriev.

Dmitriev returns to VMI this fall, and comes off a cross country season where his efforts were headlined by the third-place effort at the Big South Preview. His stunningly impressive resume, which includes the Russian Junior Cross Country Title just two seasons ago, would seem to indicate that significant achievements could be on the horizon for the native of Neftekamsk, Russia.

"Ermin has looked really strong this preseason as a result of a solid summer of training," said VMI's cross country coach, Paul Spangler. "Felix is coming off his second trip to the NCAA Championships, and for the first time, has put in a impressive summer of training, hitting upwards of 70 miles a week which is very good for a middle-distance runner. Having Andrey back in the mix will give us another potential top-10 finisher at the Big South Championships."

Behind the Keydets' top three are a pair of Dmitriev's classmates, Ian McGinn and Chris Wunsch. Wunsch, despite only finishing 32nd in the conference last season, posted a startling improvement during the year. At the Big South Preview on Sept. 19, he posted an 8K time of 29:49, but he returned to that course some six weeks later to better that clocking by nearly two full minutes at 27:55. McGinn was one of many Keydets to have an 8K personal best at the Paul Short Invitational, and he would then go on to finish 21st at the conference meet, serving as VMI's #3 runner.

"Ian comes from a talented family as his dad was a sub 4:10 miler in high school," offered Coach Spangler. "With so much consistency in his training, he has the potential to be the surprise we need to contend for a top two team finish. Chris had a very solid summer but has been hampered over the last two weeks with a sore Achilles; however, I expect him to be there when it counts."

Just as on the women's side, the Keydet men have three particularly key freshmen recruits that will be looked to as contributors. Cabell Willis, a two-time state champion during this past outdoor track season, showed that he was in prime shape by posting the sixth-fastest time ever in the VMI Cross Country Time Trial, held Aug. 20. Among the time trial records, which have been kept since 2003, Willis' 20:14 time over the four-mile distance was the second-fastest by a freshman.

Andy Eddleton also comes to VMI with a strong resume, as he was the state runner-up in the indoor 3200m, Timesland Runner of the Year in 2009 and is a six-time All-State honoree. Jordan White, Hayden Hodges, and sophomore Jason Thorpe could also make an impact for VMI this season.

"This season I expect a mixture of youth and experience to make up our varsity squad," postulated Coach Spangler. "Our three top freshmen - Cabell, Jordan and Andy - looked very good in our preseason time trial as did Ermin. Felix, Ian and Andrey have historically shown that they will be in the mix by the Big South Championships, which could give us a shot at a top two team finish. Liberty and High Point, last year's top two teams are, on paper, undoubtedly the favorites to go one and two again in 2010. If we do our part and stay healthy, I feel anything is possible, as this team is probably the most talented team I have coached on the men's side since coming to VMI in 2002."
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Players Mentioned

Andrey Dmitriev

Andrey Dmitriev

Sophomore
Andy Eddleton

Andy Eddleton

Freshman
Hayden Hodges

Hayden Hodges

Freshman
Felix Kitur

Felix Kitur

Senior
Ian McGinn

Ian McGinn

Sophomore
Ermin Mujezinovic

Ermin Mujezinovic

Senior
Jason Thorpe

Jason Thorpe

Sophomore
Jordan White

Jordan White

Freshman
Cabell Willis

Cabell Willis

Freshman
Chris Wunsch

Chris Wunsch

Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Andrey Dmitriev

Andrey Dmitriev

Sophomore
Andy Eddleton

Andy Eddleton

Freshman
Hayden Hodges

Hayden Hodges

Freshman
Felix Kitur

Felix Kitur

Senior
Ian McGinn

Ian McGinn

Sophomore
Ermin Mujezinovic

Ermin Mujezinovic

Senior
Jason Thorpe

Jason Thorpe

Sophomore
Jordan White

Jordan White

Freshman
Cabell Willis

Cabell Willis

Freshman
Chris Wunsch

Chris Wunsch

Sophomore