Ohio Wesleyan University | Battling Bishop Athletics

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2007 Season Preview

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[ Leah Schmelzer ] After a third-place finish in the North Coast Athletic Conference championship race last year, the Ohio Wesleyan University women's cross country team finished fifth in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional championship race, matching its best finish since 1993.

Head coach Kris Boey returns 4 of his top 5 runners from that squad and thinks that the Bishops can move up in this season's NCAC and regional meets.

"We return 4 of the top 5 runners from a team that was fifth in the region," said Boey, "and yet we have a very young team that we think can improve on that finish."

Boey will look to a pair of juniors to provide experience and leadership. Junior Leah Schmelzer (Marion/Pleasant) was a second-team All-NCAC selection after placing 14th at the conference championship meet, while classmate Laura Binkley (Columbus/Bishop Watterson) won honorable mention all-league honors with a 16th-place finish.

[ Sarah Shinn ] Sophomore Sarah Shinn (Edinboro, Pa./General McLane) also was an honorable mention All-NCAC choice last year, finishing 15th at the conference championship meet, and sophomore Claire Everhart (Edinboro, Pa./General McLane) placed in the top 25 at the NCAC meet.

Junior Valerie Sloboda (Columbia, Md./Atholton) scored for Ohio Wesleyan at the NCAA regional meet, and joins senior Donna Langerfeld (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) and sophomore Kara Reiter (Chardon) in the thick of the battle to crack the Bishop lineup.

Sophomore Amber Alegria (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic) is another returning letterwinner, while juniors Caitlin Chesnut (Wilmington) and Alexis Levesque (Yellow Springs) and sophomore Santa Zalite (Winston-Salem, N.C./Reynolds) also return.

Boey thinks that freshmen Jesi Dackin (Reynoldsburg), an all-state honoree in high school; and Kat Zimmerly (Edinboro, Pa./General McLane), who finished 14th in the state meet as a senior in high school; will make an immediate impact. Freshman Rachael Newman (Strongsville) has a middle distance background but is a potential contributor, and sophomore Amber Cole (Columbus/Graham School) is a newcomer to college cross country.

"I think that this is the best women's cross country team that Ohio Wesleyan has fielded," said Boey. "The thing I like about this team is that they absolutely believe that they can run at the level to which we aspire, and they possess a degree of vision that I believe few other teams have. We compete in a very good conference, but if we do what I believe we're capable of doing, we can win the NCAC championship."

The Bishops' season opens on Sept. 1 at the Dayton Invitational. The schedule includes major meets such as the Great Lakes Colleges Association meet on Sept. 8 at Kenyon, hosting the All-Ohio Intercollegiate Championship on Oct. 5, and the NCAC championship meet on Oct. 27 at Kenyon.