2005 Women's Cross Country Season Preview

Aug. 26, 2005

EAST LANSING, Mich. - -

For the Michigan State women's cross country program, success has become expected, not hoped for. Despite fielding a young, inexperienced team in 2004, MSU made its fourth straight trip to the NCAA Championships, finishing 14th. With six of the top seven runners returning in 2005 and a bevy of newcomers ready to push the veterans, expectations are soaring in East Lansing.

MSU head coach Rita Arndt-Molis inherited a team filled with underclassmen in 2004, and led the Spartans to a third-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional and a tie for second at the Big Ten championships. This year, she envisions bigger and better things for the Spartans.

"We were so young last year, we're taking all the talent we had and injecting experience, which is huge," said Arndt-Molis. "I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be ahead of where we were last year."

The cause for optimism is fueled by the return of nearly all of last year's top performers. Among the top returners are two runners who earned All-Great Lakes Regional Team honors last season: juniors Katie Kelly and Michelle Rafferty.

Kelly was MSU's No. 2 runner last season, placing fifth at the regional and eighth at the Big Ten Championships, earning second-team all-conference recognition. Rafferty, who finished second in the 10,000-meter run during the 2005 Big Ten Outdoor Championships,

placed 16th at the regional before missing the NCAA Championships due to illness.

"Katie and Rafferty will be outstanding leaders for us," said Arndt-Molis. "In the past year, they have positioned themselves as two of the best athletes in the Big Ten and in the Midwest. They have the ability to impact the distance running scene on a national level. They became two of the best 10,000m runners in the country this past track season and I expect that to carry over to cross."

Four seniors return that will lend experience as well as talent: Katie Anderson, Brittany Ballard, Leigha Christian and Aimee Keenan. Ballard was MSU's No. 3 runner at the NCAA Championships, Christian competed in four meets last year for MSU while Anderson and Keenan both battled injury problems last season.

"There's no substitute for experience," said Arndt-Molis. "Both Katie and Amy were members of the 2001 Big Ten Championship team and the younger runners are lucky to be able to look to them for guidance. Brittany has been running consistently for the past three years and has toed the line for MSU in almost every championship meet. That familiarity is a very powerful tool for her to use."

In addition to Kelly and Rafferty, the junior class includes Katie Forsyth, who was MSU's No. 4 runner at both the NCAA Regionals and Championships, and Sarah Stornant, who ran in three events last season. In the sophomore class, MSU returns Emily Adama, Nicole Bush, Kelly Higgins and Lisa Senakiewich. Bush and Senakiewich were regulars in the lineup last season, while Adama and Higgins showed promise as MSU's top runners at the EMU Invitational and Jeff Drenth Memorial, respectively, where the Spartans sent partial squads.

"Last year's freshmen have really learned a lot about themselves in the last year and have a better idea of what it takes to be successful at this level," said Arndt-Molis. "It's nice that they have more in their brain to work with in terms of where to go this season."

In addition to the wealth of talented returners, MSU features a freshman class that includes several all-state performers and a former Michigan individual State champion in Laura Malnor. Arndt-Molis has shows an ability to land several top in-state runners, as eight of the nine newcomers hail from the state of Michigan.

"Our freshmen are really good," said Arndt-Molis. "That whole freshman group has a history of excellence. They have a bravado that is very much about achievement."

With all the talent on the roster, competition within the team is expected to be very high. There are numerous runners that could crack the lineup on a given week.

"This won't be a team where we have one standout," said Arndt-Molis. "It's going to be a group of about 10 girls really working to see who's going to be in that top seven during the season, and everyone will have to achieve at a higher level. They're going to have to step up to get into that top seven and once they're there, in order for the team to succeed, everyone's going to have to step up."

As the Spartans continue to grow and excel as a program, Arndt-Molis doesn't dwell on the team's past successes, but instead looks ahead to an even brighter future.

"My vision for the program is to be a perennial top 10 program in the near future, and beyond that, a perennial top five program," said Arndt-Molis. "But if we want to reach that top five there's going to be a logical progression - it doesn't happen overnight. With a little bit of work each year we should be able to do that."