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Air Force Women's Cross Country Ready for Run at the Title
Falcons return seven of its top runners from a year ago.
Aug. 24, 1999 "The Academy's athletic director Colonel Randall Spetman announced today that the Academy will leave the Western Athletic Conference to join the newly formed Mountain West Conference." And with that announcement, the Falcons concluded their three-year stint in the Western Athletic Conference last fall with a not so shabby fourth-place finish and two Academic all-WAC honorees. Now the Falcons prepare to take on the new conference with seven of the teams' top performers returning from last season. Rachel Smith and Heather Johnson have been the Falcons' MVPs the last three years. Dalia Wenckus has been a top five performer each of the past two years and Brooke Page ran very well this past spring in track. Smith and Johnson both had an outstanding season last spring in track and are expected to lead the cross country team again this fall. Jaime Flood had a good fall season and has improved this past spring so she will be important along with teammate Sara Kinney who was the Falcons' top female finisher in several meets last fall. Glory Smith and Lara Coppinger could have an impact if they have a good summer. Stanforth had a successful recruiting season and expects a solid group of newcomers, several of whom could contribute to the team's overall success. Laurel Huber (5:15, 11:50) from Baton Rouge, La., and Cynthia Vincent (5:19, 11:43) from Seabrook, Texas, were both cross country state champions. Tracy Denaro (5:15, 11:30) from Long Grove, Ill., and Sarah Malberg (5:12a) from Durango, Colo., were among the best in their respective states which are two of the best "distance" running states in the country. Elissa Ballas (5:19), a transfer from Ohio State, and Erika Jorgensen from Boise, Idaho, could both play a role as well. "Whether any of the newcomers contribute right away is not as important as the fact that we have a good group in this class because Smith and Johnson will graduate next spring," said Stanforth. The move to the smaller MWC will be interesting. Brigham Young will again dominate the new conference. And Stanforth expects BYU and Colorado State will take first and second place, respectively, in the women's championship race. "After that, it's wide open," feels Stanforth. "The smaller conference minimizes the depth factor that we utilized to finish fourth (WAC) of 16 teams last fall." Smith, who finished No. 20 across the line, has shown that she is ready to move into the top 10 and hopefully Kinney (26th), Johnson (39th) and Flood (36th) won't be far behind. "This women's team is potentially the best team we've had in my eight years at the Academy," according to Stanforth. Although the Falcons did not graduate any top seven runners, they will miss two people from last year's team. Cathy Majauskas who was an excellent team captain and contributed a great deal to both the cross country and track and field teams graduated in June. The Falcons also lost assistant coach Suzanne Henke. "Henke did a great job with this group of athletes and she will be difficult to replace," stated coach Stanforth. Stepping into Henke's shoes is Captain Heidi McKenna. " I am confident that she will do a great job, however, there is always an adjustment period for both the coaches and athletes," said Stanforth. With only two coaches for both the men and women's cross country teams, Henke's coaching of the women's team allowed Stanforth to focus on his men's team. But McKenna is not really a newcomer as she competed for the Falcons from 1985-1988 before graduating from the Academy. And she continues to compete for the U.S. Air Force triathlon team and cross country team. With the MWC in place, the Falcons prepare themselves for the same level of competition, but with fewer championship teams to compete against in October. Nine of last year's top-10 Falcon women return, including two former t MVPs. With that, the Falcons look forward to a successful first year in the MWC. The team opens the 1999 season, Sept. 11 at the Colorado State Invitational followed by the Nebraska Invitational on Sept. 18. The Falcons do not have a home course advantage and will not host any meets. The season will conclude with the MWC Championship in Provo, Utah on Oct. 29 and the Mountain Regional in Ft. Collins, Colo., on Nov. 13.
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