FRESH FACES LOOK TO LEAD RAMS TO NEXT LEVEL
Five of eight runners are freshman for upcoming 2008-2009 season

RICHMOND, Va. – Head Coach Jon Riley will not be the only new face among the Virginia Commonwealth University women’s cross country program as Riley will be helping guide a Rams’ squad that includes only two upperclassmen and a total of five freshman for the upcoming 2008 campaign.

Riley will join Assistant Coach Ethan Tussing in a quest to take the program to new heights after a very successful 2007 season.

“Our expectations for this season are to continue to build upon the positive improvements we made last fall,” Tussing said. “Most of our runners last year improved their 5k times by two minutes or more, which is outstanding. We’re hoping to see that sort of improvement among all our runners again this year.”

One big piece of the 2007 puzzle that will be missing is graduated senior and All-CAA performer Danielle Williams, who finished fifth at the CAA Championships last November.

“She was our major strength last year, particularly with her finish at the conference meet,” Tussing said. “In order to fill the void, we are training smarter and harder than we did last year, which should also help us continue our progression in our individual performances which directly makes our team better.”

Two veterans that look ready and willing to step into the leadership role are senior Samantha Hendel (pictured to left) and junior Melissa Douglas, who have been hitting the course hard in the preseason.

“Melissa and Samantha have both been doing a great job of stepping into that leadership role,” Tussing said. “Melissa is working towards achieving feats similar to what Danielle did last year and Samantha is finally starting a season where she didn’t have to battle injuries and continues to improve everyday and help our younger runners along.”

Junior Genova Washington (Woodbridge, Va.) is primed and ready to have a breakout year on the trail as well as the third-year star has been training hard to be a big part of the Rams' success this year.

Those young runners look to be the key to the season as this year’s roster includes five freshman, making up the majority of the eight-runner squad.

“With a very young team, that is largely experiencing its first collegiate cross country season, we expect to face new challenges on a weekly basis,” Tussing said. “A large portion of our success this year will be determined by how our young runners are able to step up to those challenges and push beyond to new levels of achievement both as individuals and as a team.”

Leading the way for the newcomers is Williamsburg, Va. native Heather DelaCruz who looks to possess a skill set that allows her to be one of the Black and Gold’s top runners and battle for Douglas for that top spot. Right behind DelaCruz is Orange, Va. native Nicole Walters who has shown the coaching staff great potential in the early going and is going to help the Rams be significantly better from top to bottom.

Rounding out the newcomers is Christina Costello (Stafford, Va.), Jennifer Dominguez and Aubree Washington (Woodbridge, Va.), who all will play vital roles in the success of the 2008 VCU women’s cross country squad.

Although the 2007 season was a big sign of progress for the program, this year’s squads has the ability to taking even a bigger step and turn some heads when the Rams step on the course in Fairfax, Va. on November 1st for the CAA Championships.

“This year’s team is built largely around middle distance runners who have solid foot speed,” Tussing said. “Our goal is to develop their aerobic endurance along with their speed, so that they are in position at the end of every race to not be beat to the finish line because they are purely faster than their competitors.”

With East Coast powers such as William & Mary and James Madison in the conference, it’s a difficult challenge, but those programs are starting to see a fast-approaching group of runners that are donning the Black and Gold.