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Men's Cross Country
One of the many changes taking place for the 2009 Geneva College cross country team will be the man at the helm. The Golden Tornadoes open a new era this fall with first year head coach Brian Yowler taking over for Bret Otte after an 11 year stint as head coach. Before Otte left the program he made sure that Yowler was coming into a program without an empty cupboard. After suffering through several years with a limited number of student-athletes on the roster, the 2009 edition will be reaching record heights. A total of 30 men and women will be toeing the line at practice and meets for the Golden Tornadoes. There will be 18 on the men’s roster and 11 running for the women.
In recent years it has been the women’s team that has carried the torch of success for the program. In fact the entire women’s team qualified for the NCCAA national meet in 2008. That trend may be changing in 2009 with the addition of several key components for the men and the loss of several major contributors on the women’s side. “It is certainly no real news flash that our women’s team has enjoyed more success recently than the men,” said Yowler. “We lost our top two runners on the women’s side in Rebecca (VanRegenmorter) and Nicole (Okerlund). We will need some of our younger runners to step up in fairly quick fashion.”
With only one senior on the women’s roster, it will be essential for contributions across the board. Leading that charge should be junior Sarah Davis, who has enjoyed the most success of any returning woman runner. “Sarah has great leadership qualities and will hopefully pick up where Rebecca and Nicole left off last year in terms of training and competing.”
Six freshmen will join the women’s team in 2009 and several of them will look to make immediate contributions. “We have some talented freshman,” said Yowler. “How quickly they can work themselves into the competitive mix will be the question.”
While the men’s team didn't lose any runners to graduation, it may be without its top finisher because of injuries. Josh Falk, who qualified for the NCCAA national meet along with teammate Josh Gunnett, will make an early season decision as to whether he will compete this season or possibly be held out with a medical redshirt. “Josh is coming off injuries in the spring and has been unable to train up to his standards this summer so we will have to wait and see how he responds early in the fall.”
With Falk possibly out for the season, it will be Josh Gunnett that will assume the top spot coming into the season. Gunnett enjoyed an outstanding freshman season concluding with his first trip to a NCCAA national meet.
After a season with only eight men on the roster, it will be a welcomed sight to have 18 coming into the 2009 season. “Our larger numbers should make a huge impact on the overall success of the program.” Yowler said. “We can take our younger runners along slowly and progress them up to a point when they are ready for college competition. Last year we were forced to throw some guys into the fire and we didn't get great results.”
The Geneva men’s team finished sixth overall at the Presidents’ Athletic Conference meet while the women were third overall. “We want to continue building our program to a point where we are ready to compete for a championship when we become eligible two years from now. Right now we are focused on getting our student-athletes to improve on a daily basis.”
Youth will continue to be served within the cross country program in 2009 as the Golden Tornadoes will continue to build upon past successes. “We are all looking forward to a great start and a great finish this year,” said Yowler. “It should be a fun year for all of us to get our feet wet at the college level.”
For more information on playing at Geneva, contact:
Admissions Office
3200 College Avenue
Beaver Falls, PA 15010
724-847-6500
800-847-8255
admissions@geneva.edu