Sept. 7, 2005
With just four letterwinners returning and a roster laden with talented, yet untested freshmen, the Maryland men's cross country team will rely heavily on its upperclassmen to lead a cast of young runners in 2005.
Second-year coach Dr. Michael Garrison will look to build on his first season running the Maryland cross country program, when the Terps finished 12th at both the NCAA Regional and IC4A/ECAC Championships and seventh at the expanded 11-team Atlantic Coast Conference meet.
Juniors Matt Sanders, Pat Bailey and Pete Hess, along with the team's lone senior, Dan Ryan, enter the season as the squad's only returning runners.
One of the top-10 steeple chasers in school history, Sanders will undoubtedly be looked to as one of the team leaders this season. After competing in all seven events in 2004, he will again be counted on as one of the Terps' best and most consistent runners.
"He knows where this program can take him," Garrison said. "He has seen what can change over the course of a year and is excited about really getting after it. Matt is definitely ready to lead this team."
Bailey will also be expected to post fast times while setting an example for the more inexperienced runners this year. After a 68th-place overall finish at last season's ACC Championships, the Bel Air, Md. native is poised for a productive campaign.
"It really took him about a year to get used to the system but he's had a great summer and I think he's really ready to step forward and help lead this team," said Garrison.
An All-Mid-Atantic selection and fourth place finisher at ECAC's last season, Hess will spend much of the first part of the year gearing up for ACC's and NCAA Regionals.
"With Pete we will be focused on getting ready for postseason competition so we probably won't use him early," Garrison said.
To fill out his top-seven, Garrison will need to tap into his stable of highly touted newcomers. Josh Davis and Tyler McCandless, current roommates who have known each other since the third grade, are a pair of freshmen for which Garrison has high expectations.
"Josh is stereotypically more of a middle distance runner but, as far as cross country goes, he'll be a consistent top-three guy for us," Garrison said of Davis, who twice split 4:13 in the mile as a prep. Garrison hopes to help the slender Davis add more volume, as well.
A Pennsylvania state medalist in high school, McCandless may also be asked to contribute right away. "Tyler's worked hard in the summer and could be a leader among this young group."
Though he knows there are still many adjustments that need to be made before the freshman class can excel at the collegiate level, Garrison is already starting to see positive signs from his newcomers even before the season has begun.
"They're a great bunch of young guys who have already started to jell together. They have already started to buy into making Maryland one of the elite spots for ACC track and field and cross country."
Jake Travers (local product with top-five potential), Zach Martinez (two-time Maryland state champ and a, "big race guy") and Joe Simpson (versatile runner who is recovering from a bout of tendonitis) are also freshmen who could be called on to mature quickly and perform on race day.
The men open up the 2005 season Sept. 10 in Manassas, Va. at the Georgetown Invitational, where they will tackle a four-mile course. On Sept. 24 Maryland will compete at the Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, N.C. The race, which Garrison considers an, "ACC preview meet," will feature Clemson, Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia and Wake Forest. On Oct. 1 the Terps will head to Bethlehem, Pa. for the Paul Short Invitational, where they will get a sneak peak at the course they'll be running at regionals later in the year. Their final tune-up before postseason action will be Oct. 15 at the Penn State National Invitational in State College, Pa., the site of the 2004 NCAA Regionals.
The ACC Championships will be held Oct. 31 in Tallahassee, Fla. In 2004 the men finished seventh out of 11 teams, and, with the addition of Boston College this season, will need to push even harder to improve their standing.
The Terps' postseason continues Nov. 12 at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships and then at IC4A/ECAC Championships, where they will clash again with conference foes Duke and Boston College in Bronx, N.Y.
