Sept. 30, 2008
OXFORD, Ohio - As part of a new award program instituted by Miami head cross country and women's track and field coach Rita Arndt-Molis, three RedHawk student-athletes have been recognized as women's track and field athletes of the month.
Julie Roche, Tasha Profit and Samantha Gable earned the inaugural awards for their tremendous work during the month of September.
Arndt-Molis, in her first year as the Miami head coach, commented on the new award program.
"The athlete of the month program is an opportunity for us, as a coaching staff, to formally recognize the student-athletes we feel are making the kind of contributions now that are necessary for our program to move forward during the competitive season."
Arndt-Molis continued, "These women have been thorough in all their pursuits as it relates to their responsibilities as a Miami student-athlete. They are taking personal responsibility for the outcome and not leaving anything to chance."
Roche is a sophomore distance runner from Fort Wayne, Ind. She has finished in the top-30 in the first two cross country competitions.
Arndt-Molis explained why Roche has been honored by the coaching staff.
"Julie has been quietly going to work each and every day," said Arndt-Molis. "She is asking intelligent questions as it relates to her training. She is taking advantage of race opportunity and genuinely exploring her gifts each time we workout or race. To me, that is one of the essential characteristic of a highly successful student-athlete; the idea of exploring and not setting limits."
"I do not think she has defined how far she can climb and that's really, really important because I believe she's got some tremendous gifts and feel like we're just starting to tap into them," Arndt-Molis finished.
Profit is a redshirt freshman 400-meter runner from Chicago. The Miami coaching staff can see that she is anxious to put on the red and white for the first time this winter.
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RedHawk assistant coach Shaun Meinecke, who coaches the sprinters and jumpers for Miami, commented on Profit's work ethic.
"Tasha has exhibited an enthusiastic, positive attitude and you can tell that she has put in some time in the off-season," said Meineke. "She has shown tremendous improvement from the end of last year to the beginning of this year."
Meineke continued to comment on Profit's work on the track and in the classroom.
"She has shown great improvement in her testing results, especially the 30-meter and 300-meter workouts. Additionally, we have received good feedback from the academic staff, who said that she always shows up ready to work and with a smile."
Arndt-Molis explained some of the challenges that track and field athletes face this time of the academic year.
"For the track and field women, the fall conditioning season can sometimes be grueling because of the lack of formal competition which is normally the reward for hard work," said Arndt-Molis.
One student-athlete who has quickly been noticed by the RedHawk coaching staff is freshman thrower Samantha Gable from Greenfield, Ind.
Miami throws coach Mark Rodriguez explained what Gable has brought to the team since arriving in August.
"Sam has shown a quiet determination and a hard work ethic," said Rodriguez. "She has worked very hard and has not said a lot or complained."
Arndt-Molis finished by commenting on what effects she hopes to see from the athlete of the month program.
"We are hoping this program can give us an opportunity for there to be some friendly inter-team competition and also recognize some very deserving individuals along the way," said Arndt-Molis. "I think the best athletes in the country understand that great track seasons start with great fall conditioning seasons. It's about setting productive patterns now for success down the road."
As for Roche, Profit, and Gable, Arndt-Molis said that the trio is setting a great example for the RedHawk team.
"They are setting the standard for progress and showing a true commitment to themselves and this team," Arndt-Molis ended.
The Miami women's cross country team continues competition on Saturday, Oct. 4, when it competes at the Cowboy Invitational in Stillwater, Okla., with the gun sounding at 8 a.m. The indoor and outdoor track and field schedules will soon be released at www.muredhawks.com.
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