Of the 14 members on the 2000 squad, ten runners are either freshmen or sophomores. While there are only two seniors and two juniors filling out the rest of the team, Mandrell is confident his team will rise to the occasion and have another successful year.

Mandrell said while he has a very young team, he feels he as a strong and talented group of runners that will again contend for the Mid-American Conference Championship.

I think they will step it up and do well, Mandrell said. One of the keys will be seeing if the young guys can hold up for an entire season of racing.

Even with a young team, the MAC has recognized the RedHawks has one of the top teams in the conference. In the preseason conference coaches polls, Miami was picked to finish third.

We were selected as the third-place team in the MAC preseason poll, Mandrell said. But this does not mean a whole lot other than the fact we are expected to be in the hunt at the end of October.

While expectations are high once again for the RedHawks to contend for a title, Mandrell has not put any extra pressure on his runners.

Our goal is always to be a good enough team that people will expect us to be in contention, Mandrell said. Once again, I think this is where we will be.

Though they are the only two seniors, Ernie Ziegler and Jeff Godsey have stepped to the forefront as the team leaders. While Mandrell is confident about the abilities of his youngsters, he feels Ziegler and Godsey are setting strong examples for the younger runners. Ziegler and Godsey will also be able to share the winning experience they have gained over their careers. They have been part of two MAC Championship teams (97, 98) and a second-place team (99).

They have really stepped forward and helped out with general things as far as the day-to-day running routine, and all the little things young guys need to know, Mandrell said.

Sophomore Brian Godsey will be called on to be one of the top runners for this years squad. Godsey, a former high school cross country all-American and Ohio State Champion, had a great season for Miami last year.

Godsey placed thirty-sixth last year in the Great Lakes Regional Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., the third-highest finisher for the RedHawks. At the last MAC Championship, Godsey finished one spot behind Ziegler with an eighth-place finish. He is expected to run at one of the top positions this year for Miami.

Mandrell feels freshman Jerry Claunch, sophomores Adam Cross and Ryan Clark and junior Nathan McClintock can also have successful seasons and contend for top spots on the team.

Claunch was a teammate of Brian and Jeff Godsey at Lakota East High School. Cross was one of the top runners in the Midwest before a calf injury plagued the rest of the season. Clark makes another solid addition to the team after transferring from the University of Tennessee. Mandrell believes McClintock has taken the right steps during the off-season to be one of the top runners on the team.

I anticipate there are six guys that can run in any of the positions based on their ability, Mandrell said. You dont know who is going to be in first.

Mandrell has once again offered a competition level that will only make his team stronger. The RedHawks face some of the top teams in the country in and out of the conference. In just the Great Lakes Region alone, Miami faces Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Indiana and Butler.

Mandrell is confident his team can compete with these schools and the top schools in the MAC. The RedHawks try to rebound from last years second-place finish in the MAC Championships when they travel to Western Michigan University Oct. 28 for a chance at the title.