2016 Season Preview: Cross Country looks to continue success
MEQUON, Wis. – Since the forming of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference at the start of the 2006 season, Concordia Wisconsin's Men's and Women's Cross Country programs have been two of the more consistent teams, finishing at or near the top of the championships year-in and year-out. The Falcons will once again look to do that in 2016, as they prepare for another strong season.
CUW has been training for nearly a week and head coach Russ De Lap is once again looking forward to a strong season for his two programs. He has noticed some good things early on in training camp.
"We have some really great kids who are passionate about running," said De Lap about the 2016 version of the Falcons. "It's been fun for me and we are off to a good start."
The Falcons are coming off a season which saw the women finish third and the men fourth at the NACC Championships. While those finishes may not have been as high as they had hoped for, De Lap said from a performance standpoint, CUW had its best season yet in 2015.
"Not from a place standpoint, but from a performance standpoint, last year was our best year ever," stated De Lap. "I'm not sure if we can repeat it, but we will certainly compete in the top third of the conference."
Depth will be a concern for the Falcons, but the talent at the top of their lineups is certainly there. Breaking down each team, let's take a look at what the 2016 Falcons have to offer.
Women's Cross Country
The Falcons did lose Marya Haegler, a 2016 All-Region selection, to graduation, but return plenty of top runners from a season ago. Included in that group are three All-NACC selections from a season ago in senior Ashley Scheele (Kohler, Wis.) and juniors Nora Imperl (Greenfield, Wis.) and Cassandra Sprotte (Abbotsford, Wis.).
De Lap expects some others to join the Falcons top group and help the team contend for a conference championship. He mentioned senior Lindsey Fratzke (Winona, Minn.) and junior Paulina Agnello (Brookfield, Wis.) as runners who could impress this season, while he also stated senior Hannah Erl (Wauwatosa, Wis.) has put in a good summer of training and could be in line for her best season yet.
The Falcons have a full roster and one De Lap expects to be able to run in packs again this season. If all breaks right for CUW and the team can stay healthy throughout, expect another outstanding finish at the NACC Championships.
Men's Cross Country
The men's team lacks the same depth of the women's team this season, but still the Falcons feature some quality runners with good experience. As is the case on the women's side, De Lap expects his seniors to lead, and he has a couple of good ones on the men's team in Michael Taylor (Denmark, Wis.) and Zach Ziemann (Jackson, Wis.).
De Lap mentioned a freshman who could join Taylor and Ziemann at the top of the Falcons lineup, that being Craig Reese (Germantown, Wis.). He expects those three to be able to run together, while others continue to improve and should be able to help the lineup this season.
Last season CUW brought home a fourth-place finish at the men's NACC Championship, and should be near the top of the standings once again. It should be another exciting year for Falcons cross country, as they look to continue the success of an already consistent program.
