2010 Women's XC Season Preview

Women's Cross Country VMIKeydets.com

2010 Women'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 Keydets will be attempting to improve on their best season, which included a program-best runner-up finish on the women's side. Senior Hannah Granger comes off a storybook year, a year that she completed an unprecedented triple crown. Not only did she add a indoor track conference title (5K) to her 2009 outdoor 10K title, but she also became the Big South Cross Country Champion on the course in High Point, N.C., defeating Liberty's Dacia Bushman by seven seconds. No VMI woman had ever accomplished one of those three feats, much less all three. Granger also earned three of the six Big South Runner of the Week awards, and comes into the season as a legitimate threat to win another XC title.

"Hannah had a great summer of training, hitting a handful of 60-plus mile weeks," said VMI cross country Coach Paul Spangler. "In our preseason time trial, we saw the benefits of her hard work this summer, as she obliterated the old record (that she held) by close to 30 seconds." 

Granger's supporting cast is led by sophomore Jenna Moye, who impressed the League last season by finishing fourth at the conference meet. That earned Moye VMI's first conference Freshman of the Year honors, but after enjoying a strong indoor season as well, she injured her foot in the season's first outdoor meet and was forced to redshirt the campaign.

"Jenna had a phenomenal freshman cross country season, and surprised a lot of people as to how much she improved in just a short time from high school," offered Coach Spangler. "She had a rough track season and summer, as injury has kept her from training consistently. She did manage, however, to run 3200m of the 4k preseason time trial, and I was very encouraged at how well she ran at that time."

Last season's #3 and #4 runners, Lindsey Carty and Leah Schubel, could be key in support of VMI's top two. Carty posted four PR's among her six races last season, and was 18th at the Big South Championships. Schubel had four PR marks as well, headlined by a 19:34 5K at the conference championships that boosted her to a 16th-place finish. A returning Corinne Lariviere hopes to make an impact as well, after battling injuries throughout her freshman campaign.

"Lindsey, Leah and Corinne all did a very good job this summer in their preparation for the fall season. I could not be happier with where they are at as they looked very fit in the preseason time trial," said Coach Spangler.

The Keydet freshmen, one of the better classes in recent memory, will also provide an integral piece of VMI's chase for a Big South Championship. Tammy Cheung comes to VMI from Millbrook High School in Winchester, and does so as a six-time All-State honoree. Her 2009 district cross country championship, as well as her 18:59 5K and 11:04 3200-meter personal best, would bode well for her chances to make an impact. Hannah Best, a four-time All-District honoree out of Louisa County High School, is also a strong freshman, while Dalton Kuhar, Molly Western, Rebecca Sweeney and several other recruits hold promise.

"This is probably the first year in the programs history where we enter the year with expectations. Even last year, we really didn't know what we had until midway through the year," said the VMI head coach. "All the ladies overachieved last year, as many of them saw close to a minute improvement from their previous year's best times. If we're going to have a shot at bringing home VMI's first Big South team title, we will need to see that type of improvement again this year. Liberty, last year's champion, is certainly the favorite as they return all their top runners and bring in a solid recruiting class. Coastal Carolina, last year's third place team, can't be counted out as they brought in a solid recruiting class and are well coached. I like where we stand though, looking up at Liberty and a opportunity to make history for the program and for the Institute. It's going to be another exciting cross country season!"
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Players Mentioned

Hannah Best

Hannah Best

Freshman
Lindsey Carty

Lindsey Carty

Sophomore
Tammy Cheung

Tammy Cheung

Freshman
Hannah Granger

Hannah Granger

Senior
Dalton Kuhar

Dalton Kuhar

Freshman
Corinne Lariviere

Corinne Lariviere

Sophomore
Jenna Moye

Jenna Moye

Sophomore
Leah Schubel

Leah Schubel

Sophomore
Rebecca Sweeney

Rebecca Sweeney

Freshman
Molly Western

Molly Western

Freshman

Players Mentioned

Hannah Best

Hannah Best

Freshman
Lindsey Carty

Lindsey Carty

Sophomore
Tammy Cheung

Tammy Cheung

Freshman
Hannah Granger

Hannah Granger

Senior
Dalton Kuhar

Dalton Kuhar

Freshman
Corinne Lariviere

Corinne Lariviere

Sophomore
Jenna Moye

Jenna Moye

Sophomore
Leah Schubel

Leah Schubel

Sophomore
Rebecca Sweeney

Rebecca Sweeney

Freshman
Molly Western

Molly Western

Freshman