DETERMINED RAMS HAVE EYE ON THE PRIZE
Talent rich Men’s Cross Country squad has sight on CAA Championship

RICHMOND, Va. – Sometimes you have to take a step back to take two steps forward and the Virginia Commonwealth University men’s cross country team is looking to do just that as the youthful, but very talented Rams have their sights set on the Colonial Athletic Association championship.

The Black and Gold finished in the sixth position at last year’s conference championship meet, even with a roster that the oldest runner was a junior.

With one more year of experience under its belts, the squad has their sights set on the CAA title in November.

“The CAA is one of the most competitive conferences around,” Head Coach Julian Spooner. “We have a close knit group that has done a great job over the summer and look to have the potential to run their personal bests at the conference meet and challenge for a title.”

Leading the pack will be senior standout Jay Wyss (Richmond, Va.), who returns to the course after a year off and is determined to compete for the individual conference title.

“It’s going to sound like a cliché, but Jay is the epitome of a student-athlete,” Spooner said. “He makes everyone around him want to be better with his positive attitude. He achieves excellence in all areas and reallys is a coaches’ dream athlete.”

Joining Wyss as veteran leaders is the senior duo of Joey Wingo (Richmond, Va.) and Tim Rusterholtz (Lewisville, N.C.), both runners that have worked hard over the off-season and helped set the tone for this year’s squad.

“Joey has really worked hard and come in to the preseason in probably the best shape of his collegiate career, and Tim is one of the best leaders on the team as he leads by example with his incredible work ethic,” Spooner said.

The runner who benefited the most from the youth movement last season was junior Stephen Mutisya (Machakos, Kenya), the leader of the Rams’ in every race in 2007.

“Stephen really did a great job in stepping up last year and have a breakout year,” Spooner said. “I really look for him and Jay to be a dynamic and tough one-two punch for us this fall.”

Junior Piotr Dybas (Jaslo, Poland), sophomore John Vial (Glen Allen, Va.) and freshman Tyler Simmons (Woodbridge, Va.) will also be key components for the Black and Gold this year.

Dybas and Mutisya was last year’s one-two punch and really pushed it other thoughout the 2007 season. The third-year standout finished in the top-25 at the conference championships with a 22nd-place showing.

“Two sleepers that may surprise some people this year are John [Vial] and Tyler [Simmons],” Spooner said. “John never really got to show his true potential last year due to show nagging injuries and Tyler has already showed everyone how fierce a competitor he will be on the course for us this fall.”

With a stable full of talented runners in every class, the perennial CAA power of William and Mary may be hearing footsteps coming from the Black and Gold in 2008.