The Redhawks will be able to maintain a normal routine for the first month of the competitive season, as all three races in the early part of the schedule take place in Seattle. Seattle U will join with Washington for an open meet this Friday, Sept. 2, beginning at 4 p.m. at Magnuson Park. That is followed by the UW Sundodger Invitational Saturday, Sept. 17, at Lincoln Park in West Seattle and the Emerald City Open Saturday, Oct. 1, at Lower Woodland Park.
"The team is going to be all together for the first three races, which we have never done in the past, so I think that will help bring in this huge group of freshmen that we have. When we get that bonding, it won't be just for team cohesiveness, but it will also put the team in a competitive atmosphere. We'll take advantage of getting good recovery after these races because we're not going to be traveling," head coach Trisha Steidl said.
The men have posted back-to-back second-place finishes in the Great West Conference Championships, but to repeat that feat again in 2011, new runners will need to step forward and contribute. Of the seven runners who competed in last year's conference meet, three of them graduated, and two others, Erik Barkhaus (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) and Matthew McClement (Bellingham, Wash.), are redshirting this year in order to gain the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Regionals next season.
Kelton Sears (Maple Valley, Wash.) and Jeff Baklund (Auburn, Wash.) are the two returning runners who competed at the Great West meet last season, and they are joined by fellow returners Chris Auld (Eugene, Ore.), Dan Auld (Eugene, Ore.), Keenan Clinch (Sammamish, Wash.), Ryan Dennison (Pacifica, Calif.), Graham Kinzel-Grubbs (Portland, Ore.), Kevin Kopetz (Derry, N.H.), and Peter VanNuland (Newcastle, Wash.). Steidl welcomes five freshmen to the men's squad and believes that they can also compete for one of the top seven spots.
"The door's wide open, and there's definitely people taking advantage of it. You can tell they're really motivated to be one of those people, and they really care about being second (as a team) again," said Steidl. "That includes the freshman as well. I can't point out anybody in particular because there are so many people who are so fit and motivated this year. I think that's good, it's going to make us better."
Five of the seven women who competed at last year's conference championships are back with the team this season, as is junior Jennifer Stolle (Seattle, Wash.), who missed the 2010 cross country season because she was participating in the Study Abroad program. However, that does not mean that the newcomers will not be able to make an immediate impact on the program as the women's team looks to improve from last year's fifth place finish in the Great West meet.
Sarah Bolce (Sacramento, Calif.), the captain on this year's women's cross country team, will bring her experience to the squad along with fellow seniors Ashley Dalton (Bellingham, Wash.) and Allison Prather (Carpinteria, Calif.). Junior Lauren Hammerle (Seattle, Wash.) and sophomores Audrey Brennan (Santa Cruz, Calif.), Hannah Mittelstaedt (Maple Valley, Wash.), and Mary Thompson (Simi Valley, Calif.) will also help guide the seven newcomers through the changes from high school to college.
"We definitely have more numbers now, which is fantastic to have more depth. We have some new folks that have the ability and capacity to be strong contributors to the team. It'll take some time to get their strength down, but we have that time so if they're really motivated and really want to make it happen then we can have a solid deep group," Steidl said.
Beginning her sixth year as head coach of the cross country teams, Steidl once again brought her team to Crystal Mountain for preseason camp. Because of lower snow levels this year, the team was forced to seek out different running routes, but Steidl was pleased with the overall result of this year's camp.
"The camp went great. We always go and do hard, hilly mountain runs, so it definitely showed us the people who have done the work over the summer. There are people who should have done more over the summer, but they still worked really hard at camp and that was cool to see," said Steidl. "You can't train attitude, but you can train fitness and I don't see anyone whose attitude needs to be trained. Everybody's got the right mindset, everybody's a hard worker, and it's a very positive group of people."
For now, Steidl wants the team to focus on 2011, and the task at hand, which is maintaining and improving its position within the Great West Conference. The move to the Western Athletic Conference has been talked about briefly, but Steidl and the team wants to finish their tenure in the Great West on a positive note, which will in turn continue the progression made by the cross country program over the past five years.
"I'm excited about the group we have. It's so cool to have such a big class come in and be really pumped up, really positive, really excited, and working hard. It's the mindset, the motivation, the dedication; it's just a great group. They're going to keep feeding off each other in a positive way and we're lucky to have these people to work with. I love coming here every day and I'm looking forward to the season," said Steidl.