Aug. 30, 2011

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The front of the pack for the University of Maryland women's cross country team this season will look familiar. That could be important for the Terrapins, as the few veterans who return are talented and will provide much-needed leadership to a group that has no less than a dozen freshmen and sophomores needing to blend with the veterans.

Junior Julie Fricke will lead the Maryland veterans this season. She was the leading Maryland finisher in every event she ran in 2010 and is returning from an injury that kept her out of the track seasons. She was the Terps' leading finisher at last year's ACC Championships.

"Like all our veterans, Julie has been there in the heat of the competition," said head coach Andrew Valmon. "I like the way our veterans have taken over the leadership of the team, and we'll benefit greatly from their experience."

Valmon and distance coach Desmond Dunham will be responsible for overseeing the process of having the veterans continue their improvement while bringing along the underclassmen.

Adding to the experience is senior Ashley Cromartie, who consistently was among the Terps' top three finishers a year ago. With Fricke out, Cromartie ran in Maryland's top spot at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals last year, finishing a strong 38th individually.

Sophomore Rebecca Yep is another in a strong trio of veterans for Maryland. She was 10th at last year's Salty Dog Invitational at Navy and scored for the Terps in all three meets she ran.

Maryland's veteran corps is also bolstered by senior Halsey Sinclair, who missed much of last season with a knee injury, and junior Anna Roth, who ran in the Terps' No. 3 spot at the regionals last year. Christy Goldmann is a Terrapin junior who ran well at Mount St. Mary's in the season-opener a year ago.

Maryland will have the benefit of a large and talented sophomore class that learned from their experience from a year ago. Maryam Fikri and Bridget Nolan each got top-20 finishes for Maryland at the Mount Duals last year, while Lauren Sumner ran in the No. 4 spot in that meet.

Kallie Fehr, Corrie Gethard, Caitlin Orr and Julie Sinkovitz also return as sophomores.

A strong freshman group is led by Sydney King, who earned a top-10 individual finish at the Great American Festival, and two-time Glory Days Invitational winner Myah Hicks. Michelle Hess and Maeve McCoy will add to the freshman class.

Maryland will again begin the cross country season at the Mount St. Mary's Duals, this time on Sept. 2. The ACC Championships will be held at Clemson on Oct. 29, with the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional being contested in mid-November at UMES.

- Terps -