Oct. 26, 2005
DAYTON, OH - The University of Dayton women's cross country team is getting geared up for a trip to Philadelphia for the Atlantic 10 Championships on October 29. The Flyers are coming off of a 10th place finish at the NCAA Pre-Nationals Terre Haute, IN.
Leading the Flyers into Philadelphia will be freshman Amy Kempf (Ft. Wayne, IN), who has been a standout for UD since donning the red and blue. She has finished as one of the top two runners for the Flyers in each of her five collegiate starts. She has also been named Atlantic 10 rookie of the week for her third place performance at the Flyer 5K Challenge in early September.
Another newcomer who has earned her stripes this season is junior Dianne Striebel (Centerville, OH). When not off winning the Dayton River Corridor Half Marathon, Striebel has been one of the strongest runners on UD's team. She was the first runner across for the Flyers twice, and her time of 18:44 at the National Catholic Invitational is the fastest time run by a Flyer this year.
Other Flyer young guns that are making an impact include sophomore Corey Fullenkamp (Versailles, OH) and freshmen Anne Oltman (Clarkston, MI) and Jacqueline Jaworek (Cincinnati, OH). Fullenkamp has run three of the fastest 15 times this year for the Flyers and Jaworek and Oltman have each run two of the fastest 15 times. Freshman Ellen Nienhaus has also run well, finishing in the top seven runners for UD twice in her first five college starts. Sisters Amanda Tucker and Elizabeth Tucker (Dublin, OH) have also been running well. Both are juniors, with Amanda scoring her best time (20:02) at the Greater Louisville Classic and Elizabeth running her best time (21:15) at the National Catholic Invitational. With young runners like these, the program is in good hands for years to come.
Veteran leadership is what has allowed these Flyers to flourish, and there is no shortage of upperclassmen leaders. Junior Meg Watkins (Belair, MD) has finished in the top seven runners for UD in four of her five races this season. Her best time of the year came at the National Catholic Invitational where she ran a 19:37. Also running well for the Flyers is senior Sarah Kessler (Reynoldsburg, OH). Kessler has finished in the top seven for the Flyers three times and her fastest time of the year was a 19:35 also at the National Catholic Invitational.
More leadership is provided by junior Emily Haas (Chesterton, IN) and senior Kate Mone (Cleveland, OH). Haas has been a scoring runner for the Flyers twice and Mone has an average time of 21:42. Haas' best time of the year is a 19:36 at the National Catholic Invitational and Mone's is a 21:30 at the same event.
After the Atlantic 10 Championships on October 29, Coach Ann Alyanak and her women will join the men's squad under the direction of Rich Davis at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Bloomington, IN on November 12.
