Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Belmont Opener
Cross Country Begins Season at Belmont
9/1/2005 3:17:00 PM | Track & Field/Cross Country
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Middle Tennessee head coach Dean Hayes heads into the 2005 campaign with high hopes for both the men's and women's programs, with the return of four male runners and the addition of two key female harriers.
The Blue Raiders begin their season Friday at 5 p.m. with a meet at Belmont.
The Blue Raider men posted a second-place finish at last year's Sun Belt Championships, including a fifth-place showing from Derek Dell, now a senior. Fellow senior Steve Safstrom was 11th and sophomore Jonathan Guillou placed 15th, while junior Tony Carufe was 39th at the conference championships.
The squad must replace four-time All-SBC honoree Geoffrey Lagat, but three promising freshmen - Andrew Bock, Ryan Hood and Daniel Letting - as well as sophomore Matthew Young, will be counted on to pick up the slack.
"We return four of our top five runners from last season in Dell, Guillou, Safstrom and Carufe," Hayes said. "Replacing Geoffrey will be a major task, but if we can get one of the freshmen to step up and contribute, especially the Kenyan, Letting, then this has a chance to be our best team since we joined the Sun Belt."
The women showed marked improvement as the season progressed in 2004 and placed ninth at the SBC Championships, including three finishers in the Top 39. Sophomore Miranda Galloway paced the squad with a 26th-place showing, while senior Sara Lunning was 37th and sophomore Marjorie Gombert finished 39th.
Hayes has added a pair of Canadians whom he expects to step in and contribute immediately, Kaitlyn Hammond and Ashley Comstock. Galloway, Hammond and Comstock all attended International High School in Ontario.
"Right now we're very anxious to get started and see what we can do," Hayes said. "With the return of our top three runners - Galloway, Lunning and Gombert - and the addition of the two freshmen, we really have an opportunity to make a jump to the top half of the league. We know the girls will start the year in good shape because they've been running all summer, and this should help our club get off to a good start."
This year's schedule concludes with the Sun Belt Championships in Miami, Fla., at Larry & Penny Thompson Park, with the NCAA South Regional in Gainesville, Fla., and the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., for the second straight year.
