Sept. 15, 2005
The Miami University women's cross country team heads into Saturday's meet in Yellow Springs, Ohio looking to win its second-consecutive Cedarville Invitational title. Miami was boosted last week by the return of sophomore Jennie Stoll--who was held out of the season-opening meet at Dayton due to an injury--as she finished third at the Miami Invitational and led the race for the first 4000 meters. The 13 other teams at the meet include: Cedarville, Central State University, Columbus State Community College, Denison, Kentucky Christian, Ohio Dominican, Ohio Northern, Ohio State, Otterbein, Roberts Wesleyan, Tiffin, University of Rio Grande, and Wright State.
STOLL SHOOTS FOR SECOND CEDARVILLE TITLE: Sophomore Jennie Stoll is aiming for her second Cedarville/Friendship Invitational in as many years when the RedHawks head to John Bryan State Park. Stoll holds the top time (17:53.96) at the three-year old course after her record-setting performance in 2004.
ECKERLY ON THE REBOUND: Sophomore Carol Eckerly is still recovering from a summer injury, but at the Miami Invite, she ran well early and showed she is almost fully recovered. At the 1000-meter mark, Eckerly was even with Stoll (3:32), and at the 2000-meter mark, she was only six seconds off of Stoll's pace.
SUPER SOPHOMORES: With Sarah Henize's ninth-place finish at the Miami Invite, the second week in a row she has finished in the top 10, the RedHawks now have a trio of sophomores capable of finishing at or near the top in every race. Henize posted her highest-ever overall finish (second) at the Flyer 5K Challenge in the season's first race, and she has emerged in her second season, showing marked improvement over her freshman year when she averaged a fourth-place team finish in seven races.
MIAMI INVITE RECAP: In the Miami's only home meet of 2005, sophomore Jennie Stoll placed third in her first race back from injury, and the RedHawks finished fourth at the Miami Invitational at the Western Campus Course. Stoll finished the 5K race in 18:45, nearly 26 seconds ahead of the RedHawks' second-place finisher, and she was one of three RedHawks to finish among the top 15. Sophomore Sarah Henize was the second RedHawk runner across the finish line as she finished ninth (19:11), and it was a strong follow-up performance to last weekend's runner-up finish at the Flyer 5K Challenge. Behind Henize, Kristen Proach placed 14th (19:23).
FLASHBACK: Last season at the Cedarville Invitational, Jennie Stoll became the second rookie to lead Miami across the tape in 2004 as she was the overall winner at John Bryan State Park. Miami totaled 28 points, well ahead of runner-up Roberts Wesleyan (73) as the RedHawks were the top finisher in the 14-team field. Stoll's time of 17:53.96 was the fastest collegiate time at the state park course since the current trail was established in 2002. Carol Eckerly, the top RedHawk in Miami's first two races of 2004, finished third overall in 18:04.70, a little more than 10 seconds behind Stoll. The RedHawks placed all five scorers in the meet's top 10, enabling the wide margin of victory.
ARE THEY CLARIVOYANT?: After finishing sixth in the conference last season, the RedHawks were the No. 5 ranked team in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll. Kent State, who finished fifth at last weekend's Miami Invitational, was tabbed as the preseason favorite. Miami has the ability to finish higher than fifth if their two sophomores, Carol Eckerly and Jennie Stoll can continue to improve in their second season and if Miami can get consistently higher finishes from its group of seniors. Ceronie expects Kristen Proach, a junior walk-on last season who has posted two staright top-15 finishes, to continue to run well and provide depth behind his top two runners, Eckerly and Stoll.
RELOADING, NOT REBUILDING: Head coach Richard Ceronie returns his top nine runners from last season, and he did not lose any letterwinners to graduation. The RedHawks have a mixture of youth and veteran experience as five freshman and four seniors comprise Ceronie's top nine. Besides Stoll and Eckerly, Miami's sophomore class includes Tricia Frisella, Mia Fiegelist and Sarah Henize. The four member senior class includes Kelly Ardelean, Kristen Proach, Leslie McCue and Abbey Reeser.
2004 RECAP: In 2004, Miami finished sixth in the Mid-American Conference as Carol Eckerly (seventh) and Jennie Stoll (19th) paced the RedHawks. Miami began its season by winning its first three meets--the Dayton Flyer Invitational, the Miami Invitational and the Cedarville Invitational--and the young RedHawks' squad that featured six freshman placed 12th at the Great Lakes Regional. Stoll was the top finisher (12th) at the regional meet while Eckerly was the only Miami runner to earn MAC honors (second-team) by virtue of her seventh-place finish at the conference meet.
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