KUTZTOWN, PA (August 25, 2010) -- The Kutztown University women's cross-country team has earned plenty of preseason respect after its strong ending to the 2009 season. The Golden Bears are ranked second regionally and 17th nationally in the preseason United States Track and Field Cross-County Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) Top 25 poll released Wednesday afternoon.
In the Atlantic Region poll, the Golden Bears are ranked behind Shippensburg and ahead of Slippery Rock, Bloomsburg, Edinboro, Millersville, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Indiana (Pa) and East Stroudsburg. The women's cross-country team joins the women's soccer team as squads who have been ranked in their sports' preseason national polls. The women's soccer team is 22nd in their poll.
Kutztown enjoyed a memorable 2009 season in which it finished 14th overall at the NCAA Division II Championships, tying the highest effort in program history. The Golden Bears were the highest finishing PSAC school at the NCAA championships last year. Kutztown also placed second at the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regionals and fifth at the PSAC championships.
The Golden Bears have plenty of experience returning this season as Becca Brandt (Cleona, PA/Cedar Crest), Kristin Cupido (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan), Cristina Reimer (Chester Springs, PA/Downingtown East) and Keri Brown (Southampton, NJ/Seneca) all competed in the national championship meet. While gathering for team photos, the Golden Bears didn't seem fazed by the national attention.
“It's a big confidence booster for us to be ranked this high in the preseason regional rankings,” Cupido said. “We always look to be in the top two for regionals and make nationals. It's nice to receive this type of respect because we lost so many good runners from last year. It's a great honor to be ranked second in the region.”
Cupido was Kutztown's highest finisher at the NCAA championships last year, finishing 52nd overall with a time of 22 minutes, 14.3 seconds. Reimer was next for Kutztown, finishing 70th overall (22:33.5).
Reimer, Brown and Cupido and Brandt finished among the top 30 at the Atlantic Regionals last season, which helped the Golden Bears earn the trip to nationals as a team.
“A ranking like this lets the underclassmen know where we want to be at the end of this season and where we were last year,” Brandt said. “We all loved the experience out at nationals last year and we have a lot of returning runners and a lot of good freshmen who will help us and hopefully make it to another national championship meet again. We're looking forward to the upcoming season.”
The Golden Bears begin their 2010 season next Friday evening when they compete in the Lehigh Valley Challenge beginning at 6:15 p.m. Kutztown will also host a pair of home meets this season: The Maroon-and-Gold Invitational on Saturday, September 11 and the Division II Challenge on Saturday, October 23.
California University of Pennsylvania will host the PSAC Championships on Saturday, November 6 and Saint Augustine's College will be the site for the NCAA Atlantic Regional on Saturday, November 20. The NCAA championships are in Louisville (Ky.) on Saturday, December 6.
“I definitely feel that the women are deserving of their ranking,” Kutztown women's cross-country head coach Ray Hoffman said. “I believe we have a good group of upperclassmen and a nice mix of freshman. If they jell then we should be in the hunt for a trip to nationals again this season.”
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