Knocking on the doorstep of becoming highly successful, the Red and White have brought in a stellar recruiting class that will allow the RedHawks to creep even closer to the top of the conference.

“For the second year in a row, we were able to bring in a high-profile recruiting class,” said head coach Dr. Richard Ceronie. “Five of our recruits ranked in the top 50 in the U.S. in their events last spring. We believe this year’s class is one of our best at Miami.”

With the combination of the returnees along with the freshmen class, Ceronie is on his way to elevating the RedHawk program to new levels.

“Obviously, we didn’t have the kind of year in 2000 that we have been accustomed to,” added Ceronie. “We competed well in the dual and triangular meets, but fell short at the big meets. I think we have a much better team this year but the key is to stay healthy. We have the right nucleus for a great team, but our athletes must be fit and healthy in order for us to improve.”

Sprints

Sophomore Erika Harper and freshman MacKenzie Weidenhamer will carry much of the load this year in the short sprints. Harper ran well indoors last year, moving to the number-two spot all-time in the 60 meters and running on the sixth-place 4x400 relay team at the MAC Indoor meet. Weidenhamer finished second in the 200 meters at the Ohio state meet and third in the 100 meters. Harper and Weidenhamer will both run on the 4x100 relay team.

In the long sprints (400 meters), two sophomores carry much of the burden, Erica Barnett and Rachel Tomczak. Barnett and Tomczak produced great indoor seasons last year, moving into the top group of 400 meter runners all-time indoors at Miami. Along with Harper, Barnett and Tomczak form three-fourths of the 4x400 relay team.

Hurdles

Sophomore returnee, Kate Christoff, who placed seventh in 100 hurdles at the 2000 MAC meet, is joined by two talented freshmen. Erin Connolly set an Ohio state record last spring in the 100 hurdles (14.21), and Jennifer Caldwell just missed breaking the state record in the 300 hurdles while finishing third in the 100 hurdles. The long hurdles finds senior Maeghan Ramser and sophomore Jolien Jakubick working to qualify for the MAC finals. Ramser, Jakubick, along with senior Sommer Lawal, who has ranked in the top 10 in the MAC 400 hurdles the last two years, should provide leadership and experience to the raw freshman class.

Distance

In the 800 meters, two sophomores, Sara Edwards and Kylee Studer, are the backbone of the squad, along with freshman Jenny Korrison, who finished third in the Illinois state meet last spring with a time of 2:13. Edwards and Studer excelled last year both indoors and outdoors, with Edwards finishing the 2000 campaign ranking ninth in the MAC.

In the 1,500 meters, sophomore Becca Vianello and senior Megan Stanley are counted on to carry much of the load, while newcomers Korrison and Carrie Hucko are expected to make contributions immediately.

NCAA cross country-qualifier Kristen Fryburg is the forerunner to handle the 5,000- and 10,000-meter duties, along with incoming freshman-standout Andrea Kremer, who ran one of the fastest high school times in the country last year in the 3,200 (10:39). Juniors Tara Pratt and Liz Lundgren and freshman Kristin Wrede are also in the scoring mix in the long distance events.

Jumps

In the horizontal jumps, returning MAC scorer Suzanne Smith teams with newcomer Lindsay Hazen to hold down the high jump. Hazen, who placed third in the Ohio state meet last spring, should be in position to score at the MAC meet this season. Two returnees, Helen Kilfoyle and Brienne Wade, attempt to fill the void of Sharon Poisson, who placed seventh in last year’s MAC meet, in the pole vault. Previous triple jump-MAC Champion Carrie Mitchell has freshman Bernitta Johnson, the Pennsylvania state champion last season, backing her up. Johnson’s best performance last year in the state meet puts her in the hunt to score at the MAC meet.

Throws

Kristi Norris and Lauren Collins, incoming freshman who both were all-state competitors in Indiana, have shown that they are capable of coming right in and placing in the MAC in the shot put. Junior Marie Mokosso was a finalist last year at the MAC Championships in the discus and should be a scorer at this year’s MAC meet. Newcomer Ally Sisler, a transfer from Ashland University who was the starting guard on the basketball team last year as a freshman, is the leading candidate for the javelin this year.

Heptathlon

Returning MAC-scorer Katie Hanley returns for her senior year looking to improve on her seventh-place finish at last year’s MAC meet. Hanley leads newcomer Liz VanWagner, who placed in the Michigan state meet in the 300 hurdles last spring in the multi-events.