After strong showings at the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships, the Misericordia cross country teams are headed to Waynesburg, Penn., to compete in the 2008 NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Cross Country Championships this weekend.
The women's team is led by All-MAC first teamers Ali Ostrum and Meghan Dreabit. Ostrum finished 21st at regionals last season with a 22:42 mark in the 6k. Dreabit was 46th at 23:16. Both should translate to better times and higher rankings this season, head coach Chris Wadas said.
“Meghan and Ali have a realistic shot at advancing to the national meet,” Wadas said. “Their performances all year have been stronger. Ali's better than where she was last year, and Meghan's right there with her.”
But some of the team's younger runners are looking to make their mark at regionals, too. Freshman Aimee DiLucido embraced the third role and made second team All-MAC after finishing 20th at the conference championships.
Amanda Radishofski finished 140th with a 24:57 mark at regionals last season, but she's expected to show up this year.
“All our girls are ready to go,” Wadas said. “The three through five runners have gotten better. As a team, I'd be disappointed if we didn't get a top-15 finish, which would be our highest in school history.”
Maura O'Rourke rounds out the top five. After a successful freshman season, O'Rourke heads to regionals with surefire confidence.
“She was injured this summer, but we had her on the bike and working out slowly,” Wadas said. “At our first meet she was our eighth girl, and now she's switching between five and six. Runners try to run together, but she'll push to try to move up. She has that aggressive mentality that helps push more passive runners.”
The men's team is led by sophomore Frank Redmond, who was named team MVP a year ago. Redmond finished 129th with a 27:41 mark at last season's regionals as a freshman. He was a second team All-MAC selection this season after finishing 18th at the MACs and leading the Cougars in points this season.
“For Frank to break into the top 90 would be an accomplishment,” Wadas said. “It all depends on what he wants to do. The good thing is we have four guys that pack tightly. It's not all on one runner on the men's side.”
Pat Noonan, Ryan Garges and Brian O'Neill placed 141st, 175th and 252nd at last season's regionals, respectively. But the gap between runners, Wadas said, has continually closed since.
“They all run hard in races and push each other,” Wadas said. “They run within 30 seconds of each other.”
Pat Blaskiewicz, who didn't race in regionals as a freshman, will look to make a splash this year. He's been a consistent piece of the men's team top five, finishing 41st at conference championships.
“Pat didn't race last year because he wasn't one of our top runners,” Wadas said. “But he's our most improved runner by far. He's three minutes faster than he was, and I expect him to do better than that this weekend.
“Our men tied for 22nd last year, but we can break the top 20. This is a young group. I look at the freshman and sophomores I have now and look at how older runners were as freshmen. These guys are a little ahead of where some others were.”
By avoiding uneven splits in mile times and pacing their energy, Wadas' runners have become more disciplined this season. It's showed in this season's results.
“When I was a runner, I was never told to run from behind,” Wadas said. “You don't need to have the fastest first mile. It's easy to get ahead of yourself, so I tell my teams to relax and run how you raced all year. That's how something good happens for you.”
Fifty-four teams will compete at regionals. The men's race begins at 11:00 a.m., and the women's at noon, Saturday at Greene County Airport in Waynesburg.
