Photo courtesy of Shannon Stanglewicz
Seniors Shannon Stanglewicz, Danielle Chase, Joanna Grille, sophomore Alissa Hall and senior Rachel Somogie won the Intersquad home meet last Saturday at the White Oaks Golf Course.
Cross Country Head Coach Bill Lundberg and the captains of both the men’s and women’s cross country teams are expecting great things for this year’s season.
It’s a year to rebuild for the men’s team, after graduating several peak performers who helped earn the team’s eighth place spot at the NCAA National Championships last November.
Still, senior co-captain Nick Liversedge said he thinks a return to Nationals is in reach of the men’s team.
“Last year we were the best team Charger sports has ever seen,” Liversedge said. “It will be hard to live up to that legacy, but I definitely think we’re capable.”
The women’s team also has its sights set on a National appearance, a goal that senior co-captain Heidi Johnson said feels closer this season than the previous three.
“Since my freshman year the team has been preparing for this season,” Johnson said. “We’ve reached our moment.”
The fifteen-member women’s team boasts a strong core of seniors – Johnson, co-captain Shannon Stanglewicz, Danielle Chase, Laura Devine, Carrie Douglas and Joanna Grille – that share a close bond both on and off the course. Seniors comprised five of the team’s top seven runners at the Chargers’ “Blue and White” intersquad race Friday.
“This group of girls has known each other and been running together going on four years,” Stanglewicz said. “We’re all pretty in tune with what each other needs and we’re excited to get the season going.”
Lundberg said he is confident in the women’s team’s senior core, bolstered by a strong group of junior runners led by Alissa Hall, who finished first at Friday’s intersquad race with a time of (18:30).
“Alissa has been one of the strongest runners who has returned,” Lundberg said. “She’ll be one to watch this season.”
Johnson said everyone on the women’s team has been working hard.
“I’ve just been so impressed with the way people have worked over the summer,” Johnson said. “Even the younger girls realize that this is a year to buckle down and work hard because this is a special group of people.”
The depth of the men’s 12-man team is one of Lundberg’s primary concerns this season, but Friday’s intersquad race showed the third place through seventh place runners— juniors Tim Sayers, Peter Sercer, senior co-captains Scott Kallgren and Charles-Michael Berg, and junior Alex Schmidtendorff—finishing within 24 seconds of one another. Liversedge place first (20:57) with junior Lewis Butler in second.
“That was really cool to see our team that close, that packed together,” senior co-captain Scott Kallgren said. “We have a good bunch of guys and we’re all going to be fighting for those top spots.”
Liversedge said the team will focus on becoming faster as a pack and on developing frontrunners who will set the pace for the team.
“Last year we had really strong senior runners up front that we could fall in behind,” Liversedge said. “This year the biggest difference is we have to learn to lead on our own.”
The Chargers will kick off their competitive season on September 16 at the Michigan State Spartan Invitational.