2001 Cross Country Outlook

Despite the loss of All-American Todd Markelz to graduation, the Trinity men's cross country team has many reasons to be optimistic, as 13 experienced harriers will return from last season’s National Championship squad. Senior captain and the College’s Junior Male Scholar Athlete of the Year last season Steven Napier leads a team that has a New England Championship title and another trip to the National Championships as its goal.

Juniors Ryan Bak (an All-American in indoor and outdoor track), James Emord, Ryan Lerner and Steve Coakley represent one of the top classes in recent memory. Bak just missed earning All-NESCAC and All-New England honors in 2000, but should be one of the top runners in the league and the region this season. All four ran in the top seven last fall. Sophomore Jon Drappi also returns after an injury kept him out of the lineup as a rookie.

The women’s team returns all seven harriers from an 11^th-place performance at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championships last season. Junior co-captain Leeann Rheaume, who came less than a second away from qualifying for the National Championships as an individual, should be one of the top runners in the NESCAC. Senior co-captain Caroline Leary (team-best time in 1999), juniors Kate Klein, Sarah Hackett, and Stephanie Wezowicz, and sophomores Elizabeth Brown, Kristina DePeau, and Karen Roy are all seasoned veterans who will push each other throughout the season. The Bantams are poised to climb even higher up the the ladder Rob Mackowiak in the New England region.