COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Maryland cross country squad will kick off its 2016 season this Friday, September 2 at the Mount Saint Mary's 5K duals in Emmitsburg, Md. The team has been hard at work this preseason preparing for the upcoming campaign, and returns several experienced runners this fall.
A mix of upperclassmen and new faces will look to blend together for a tight front pack on the course this year, as head coach Andrew Valmon gets set to lead the program in his 14th season at the helm.
“The slogan that we've been talking about is 'It's our time' and I think with a senior-laden team along with some of the young kids factored in, we're going to be really strong up front," said Valmon at Maryland's fall sports media day. "Our key for this year is to stay healthy. With three seasons and no break, it's going to be really important to do the right things. Last year we made some steps in the right direction and the group is excited to build on this.”
runners to watch
Senior captain Sydney Almeida will help lead the Terps after coming off a strong season in 2015, where she was Maryland's No. 2 finisher at both the NCAA Regional and Big Ten Championship meets. Fellow senior Alexa Squirini is also primed to be a consistent contributor at the top of the pack after a solid preseason.
Junior Alexandra Lucki returns as the squad's top performer from a season ago, after finishing as the No. 1 Maryland runner at four events. The Ontario, Canada native won the Gettysburg Invite last season with a time of 21:50.6, while notching the best finish (45th) of any Maryland runner in three seasons at the NCAA Regionals. Lucki is coming of a breakout outdoor track season where she earned her first trip to the NCAA Championships as a 1500 meter run qualifier.
Sophomores Kiernan Keller and Gaby Go were also mainstays in the lineup last season, while seniors Charde' Barnes and Karah O'Halloran will help guide the Terps in 2016
Maryland welcomes five freshmen to the fold this year, with Caroline Augelli, Maria Castellanos, Kathryn Gearhart, Paige Novak and Emily Bracher set to make their Terrapin debuts.
b1g competition
The Big Ten continues to produce some of the nation's top cross country programs, with four women's teams ranked inside the USTFCCCA Preseason Top-30 poll. After finishing 14th in their inaugural year in the conference, Maryland jumped three spots at the 2015 Championships to secure an 11th place finish.
“The focus for us is we start from the top we really want to get to the NCAAs and want to do our part as a sport here at Maryland,” said Valmon. “We have some incoming kids who are really running well now in cross country and we're hoping that they get together with [Alexandra Lucki] and Sydney [Almeida] and some of the other seniors on our team and we can have a special season. We took a big jump last year moving up, and we're hope to continue to take more places moving up in the conference.”
schedule
The Terps open their season Friday at the Mount Saint Mary 5k duals for the fourth straight season. The smaller meet serves as a warm up to let newcomers compete and prepare the team for the season. Next , the team heads to the Salty Dog invitational in Annapolis on September 10, before running at the infamous Paul Short Invitational on October 1.
The team will run at the Princeton Invite on October 15 as a final tune up before championship season, then the squad heads to Minneapolis, Minn. for the 2016 Big Ten Championships on October 30. State College, Pa. will serve as the host site for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on November 11, before the NCAA cross country season concludes in Terra Haute, Ind. for the 2016 NCAA championship meet on November 19.
This year's squad has its sights set on a top-25 finish at the NCAA Regional meet, while aiming to land an individual at large bid to the NCAA championships.
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