University of Delaware Athletics
Delaware Women's Cross Country Set for Colonial Athletic Association Championships Saturday
10/31/2014 5:29:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
BOSTON -- Another top three finish will be the goal for the University of Delaware women's cross country team when the Blue Hens take part in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship meet Saturday morning at Franklin Park.
The Blue Hens, who placed third at the meet each of the past two seasons, will be among nine schools vying for the title. The six-team men's eight-kilometer race will begin at 10 a.m. followed by the women's six-kilometer competition at 11 a.m. Northeastern University is the host for the event.
“I look forward to seeing everyone compete at their best this Saturday,” said Delaware head coach Wendy McFarlane. “The ladies are excited and ready to take advantage of all the hard work they put in this season. The conference meet is where we show and tell our strengths as a team. Our goal is to secure our spot in the top three team finish. The CAA field is bigger and very competitive this year but we are prepared to meet the challenge.”
Delaware has enjoyed an outstanding season as a team, capturing the overall team titles at the Delaware Invitational and UD Blue & Gold Invitational, placing third at the Lehigh Invitational, and winning two of three duals at the Towson Invitational.
The Hens have been led all season by senior Katrina Steenkamer (Rising Sun, Md./St. Mark's, Del. HS) who has been Delaware's top finisher in all five races and been the individual champion three times. She is the first UD runner to win three individual titles in the same season since Erin Gemmill in 2002.
“As a team we hope to be in the top three,” said Steenkamer, who helped Delaware with its third place CAA finish last year at Towson by placing 25th overall. “Each team this year is bringing more than last year, so it really is up in the air as to how places will turn out. We have put in the training and we have to trust in that when we compete this weekend. I hope that we can get 3-4 girls in the top 12, which is all-conference placing. I think that we have shown that we can do this with how well we have been executing pack-running this season. It's not about time anymore, it's about place. I hope that when each girl finishes the race she feels like she put it all out there and performed to the best of her ability.”
Steenkamer is one of four current UD runners who also competed at the CAA meet a year ago, joining fellow senior Nicole Daly (19th place), junior Shannon Kelly (24th) and sophomore Betsy Erlanger (38th). Among Delaware's other top runners this season have been senior Melissa Mazzo, junior Erin McCloskey, sophomores Rebecca Gessler, Gabrielle Alaimo and Melissa Talley, and freshmen Madeline Berman, Liz McGroarty, Angie Spadaccini, and Adrienne Fraczkowski.
Steenkamer will be attempting to become the first Blue Hen runner to finish in the top 5 at the CAA meet since Colleen O'Brien finished third in 2005. Emily Gispert led the Hens with a ninth place finish a year ago.
William & Mary is seeking its 16th straight men's team title while the Tribe women, who are earning votes in the national Top 25 poll, have won two straight team titles following James Madison's two-year run as champions in 2010 and 2011. Delaware has never placed higher than third in the CAA and last won a conference title in 1995 as a member of the North Atlantic Conference.
Players Mentioned
