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Women's Cross Country Team Returns Eight Runners
Expectations Are High For 2002 Season
July 25, 2002 Third-place conference finishes in 1999, 2000 and 2001, eight of the top nine returning, a solid group of incoming recruits: sounds like the formula for a successful season. That is what the 2002 Air Force Academy women's cross country team is anticipating. The 2001 Falcons finished seventh in the Mountain Region, their highest finish ever. The goals for the 2002 team include another top-three conference finish and a top-five regional finish. "We have the potential to have the best team we've had since I've been here," head coach Mark Stanforth said when assessing the prospects for the upcoming season. "We've got more experience than ever; the only concern is that a couple of the women were injured in the spring so they didn't make as much progress as we'd like." C2C (Jr.) Brandess Pardue returns to lead the Falcons. Pardue was the 2001 MVP and was the first Falcon female to qualify for the NCAA Division I championships as an individual. C1C (Sr.) Elissa Ballas and C2C Jean Taylor, both of whom have run right with or ahead of Pardue in past seasons, return to give the Falcons a strong top three. C2C Anne Chumlea was a consistent top-five performer for the 2001 Falcons. C2C Kelly McPherson and C3C (So.) Cindy Dawson had outstanding seasons on the track and that improvement should translate to continued improvement in the fall. C2C Stephanie Cornell and C3C Mary Uhler round out the top nine returnees and are both capable of cracking the top five for the Falcons. A group of six incoming freshmen, headlined by Nicole Graham of Blue Springs, Mo., will join the Falcons this fall giving the women the most depth they've ever had. Graham, a top-four finisher in both the 1,600 and 3,200 in the Missouri state meet, posted season bests of 5:03 and 11:12, respectively. She will be joined by Jackie Davis (San Antonio, Texas) the Texas private school state champion in cross country who also ran 5:14 to win the 1,600 in track; a trio of Californians, Lindsay Grose (Mission Viejo), Maija Rohde (Fallbrook) and Vivien Aspden (Yucaipa) and Andrea Pinchak (Shaker Heights, Ohio) all of whom with high school bests within the 5:20-11:30 range. The Falcons look to be improved; however, the rest of the conference and region could be as well. BYU, national champions in 2001 and holders of a string of five top-two national finishes, headline the conference and regional opposition closely followed by fellow regional powerhouse Colorado, 2000 national champions. Conference foe Colorado State, 17th and 20th at the past two NCAA meets, NAU, 12th at the 2001 NCAA championships, and Weber State, 22nd at the 2000 NCAA meet provide a very strong challenge for the Falcons striving to move into the top five in the Mountain Region. In the Mountain West Conference, the Falcons will be challenged by the improving programs at both Utah and New Mexico in their quest to continue their top-three conference string. The 2002 schedule includes the Lobo Invitational, Albuquerque, N.M., (Sept. 14); Cowboy Jamboree, Stillwater, Okla. (Oct. 5); Pre-NCAA, Terre Haute, Ind. (Oct. 19); MWC Championships, Provo, Utah (Nov. 1); NCAA Mountain Region, Albuquerque, N.M. (Nov. 16) and NCAA Championships, Terre Haute, Ind. (Nov. 25). The men and women's B teams will compete in the Colorado College Invitational (N. Monument Valley Park), Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sept. 14); Rocky Mountain Shootout, Boulder, Colo. (Oct. 5); Tiger Invitational, Hays, Kansas (Oct. 12).
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