GOLDEN EAGLE HARRIERS GEAR UP FOR PSAC CHAMPIONSHIP

Slippery Rock hosts Oct. 29 event

            The Clarion University men’s and women’s cross country teams are gearing up for the 2005 PSAC Cross Country Championship Saturday, Oct. 29 at Slippery Rock.

            “Our excitement level is almost boiling over,” first-year head coach Daniel Caulfield said. “The amount of mileage and work outside of practice that we have put in all year has been geared for these upcoming races. Considering all that work leads up to races that will be less than 60 minutes on the men’s side and 45 minutes on the women’s side, you can’t help but be excited for them.”

GOLDEN EAGLE WOMEN LOOKING FOR TOP 6 FINISH

            The Golden Eagle women’s team is shooting for a Top 6 PSAC finish again this season. Clarion has been in the top six the past three seasons including a fifth-place finish last year and a school-best third-place in 2002.

            “My expectations are for us to break inside the Top 6,” Caulfield said. “I believe that would be a successful weekend.”

            The Eagles have had a lot of success so far this season winning all six of their races.

“Our runners have a feeling of a sense of confidence,” Caulfield said. “They are ready to see how they can do against the great competition in the PSAC, which is probably the second best cross-country conference in the country. This is a big challenge, and the athletes are looking forward to it. Not being ranked in the Top 10 in the region despite having beaten some of the teams in the Top 10 adds a little extra motivation.”

Even with the perfect record, there is an amount of uncertainty for Clarion. The Eagles have faced only a few PSAC teams this year. Most of their races have been local races against NCAA Division III and NAIA competition with a few PSAC squads sprinkled in.

            “That plays a factor in the amount of uncertainty we have going into this race,” Caulfield said. “We haven’t run against many of the teams we will be facing. At the same time, we have been able to compare our times against their times on some of the same courses while also being able to see how they did against some of the same teams we competed against but in different races. We have a rough idea of how we will fair.”

            Leading the way for Clarion will be sophomore Erin Richard (Erie/McDowell) and senior Katie Jarzab (Oil City/Oil City).

            Richard was Clarion’s top runner in each of the five races she ran. She won four (the fifth was a non-competition race), and has a 6K best time of 22:54.46 that she ran Oct. 8 at Carnegie Mellon. She ran a 24:10 on the Slippery Rock course Sept. 16. Last season, Richard finished 26^th at PSAC’s and was Clarion’s No. 2 runner at the meet.

            “Erin is definitely an All-PSAC (Top 15) contender,” Caulfield said. “She has matured a lot this year and gotten a lot stronger. She has beaten some good competition, and I am confident that she will make a big step up this year.”

            Jarzab is looking to return to the success she had as a freshman on the 2002 squad that went to the NCAA Championships. That year she finished 19^th at Regionals and 25^th at PSAC’s. Last year she was 59^th at PSAC’s. This season, she has been Clarion’s No. 2 runner in each of the past four races with her best 6K time coming at CMU (23:20.5). She ran a 25:51 at Slippery Rock.

            “Katie has already surpassed her freshman times,” Caulfield said. “She was able to run injury free this season and overall has greatly improved.”

            Additional key runners for the Golden Eagles will be senior Mary Smith (Portage/Forest Hills) and juniors Tasha Wheatley (Saltsburg/Kiski Area), Autumn Shaffer (Imperial/West Allegheny) and Sue Despot (State College/Bald Eagle Area).

            Smith’s best 6K time is 24:27.9 at Thiel, Wheatley’s is 23:39.25 also at Thiel, Shaffer’s is 24:42.22 at CMU and Despot’s is 25:06.9 at CMU. Last year, Wheatley was 39^th at PSAC’s, Shaffer 73^rd and Smith 83^rd.  

CLARION MEN LOOKING TO IMPROVE AT PSAC’S

            The Golden Eagle men are looking to improve on last year’s 10^th place finish at PSAC’s. The 10^th place finish was the team’s best since taking 9^th in 2001. 

            “The men have frequently been between 10^th and 12^th at PSAC’s which leaves a lot of room for improvement,” Caulfield said. “I believe that can happen. We have a walk-on team with a lot of individuals who were overlooked at some point, but they have worked very hard and are looking for big things to happen. I would be extremely happy if we can break into the Top 7 at PSAC’s and the Top 9 at Regionals.”

            Sophomore Chris Clark (Hadley/Commodore Perry) is expected to lead the men’s team.

            Clark has been the Eagles top runner in each of his last three races and four times this season. His top 8K time was 26:18.11 at CMU, and he ran 27:14.6 while finishing fourth at the Slippery Rock dual meet Sept. 16. Last season he was the Eagles No. 2 runner at PSAC’s finishing 53^rd.

            “Chris has just started to shine as we have tapered for these next two races,” Caulfield said. “I think he is looking at an outside shot at being in the Top 15 at PSAC’s and the Top 20 at Regionals if things go well for him. Considering he is only a sophomore, we see big things for him in his future.”

            Juniors Sean Williams (Austintown, Ohio/Austintown-Fitch) and Bill Herrmann (Centereach, NY/Newfield) have a chance to give the Golden Eagles three runners in the Top 40 at PSAC’s.

            Williams has been Clarion’s No. 1 or No. 2 runner in five of the Eagles six races winning at St. Vincent Sept. 24. His best 8K time this year is 26:42 two weeks ago at Waynesburg. He was 69^th at PSAC’s as a sophomore.

            Herrmann, a junior college transfer, has been a Top 3 runner for Clarion all season including winning the Thiel Invitational Sept. 10. His best 8K time is 27:16 at St. Vincent.

            “We are very capable of having three Top 40 runners this year,” Caulfield said. “Considering last year we had only on in the Top 50, I would be very pleased if we have three guys ahead of that this year.”

            Additional key runners for the Golden Eagles include seniors Matt Reinhold (Pittsburgh/Chartiers Valley) and Aaron Neely (Pittsburgh/North Hills), junior Travis Cyphert (Summerville/Clarion-Limestone) and sophomore Jason South (Lewis Run/Bradford).

            Reinhold’s best time in 2005 is 27:35.51 at CMU, Neely’s is 27:36.48 at CMU, Cyphert’s is 27:59.13 at CMU and South’s is 28:44 at Waynesburg. Reinhold was 62^nd at PSAC’s last year and 74^th at Regionals, while South was 91^st at Regionals.

            GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES – Both teams will return to action Nov. 5 at the NCAA Regionals at Lock Haven… Clarion’s women were seventh at Regional’s last year and the men took 12^th … The 12^th place finish was the men’s best since 2001 … The women finished a school-best second at Regionals in 2002… Lock Haven is the 2-time defending PSAC men’s champion, while Edinboro is the 7-time defending women’s champion.

Head coach Dan Caulfield

So. Erin Richard

So. Chris Clark