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2003 Women's Cross Country News
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| Christian |
NAIA Region V Championship
Junior Lindsey Christian of Atchison set a personal record en route to a 12th-place finish at the NAIA Region V Championship Nov. 8 in Fayette, Mo.
Christian finished in 19:53, breaking her old PR by eight seconds. She joined sophomore Jessica Barrand of Topeka, who placed 15th, on the NAIA All-Region V team.
Sophomore Blair Spencer of Alma, last season's MVP, placed 18th. Freshman Megan Smart of Topeka PRd by 57 seconds with a time of 23:37 to place 61st. Junior Kerry Fitzgerald of Olathe fought an illness to place 69th. Freshman Cara Langston of Tonganoxie PRd by 41 seconds to place 79th with a time of 29:22.
The women placed sixth out of nine teams in near-freezing conditions on a rough course. Complete results are available on the Central Methodist College Web site or by clicking here.
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| Barrand |
Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship
Baker's top three runners placed 10th, 11th and 12th to make all-conference at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship Nov. 1 in Baldwin City.
Sophomore Jessica Barrand of Topeka led the trio with a time of 20:00. Junior Lindsey Christian, the team captain, was just four seconds behind and last year's MVP, sophomore Blair Spencer of Alma, was only a second behind Christian.
In her first five-kilometer (3.1-mile) race of her injury-filled freshman season, Megan Smart of Topeka placed 56th with a time of 24:34. Senior Emma Carter of Overland Park placed 62nd in her first race of the season.
Baker placed sixth overall. Complete results are available here.
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| Spencer |
Ollie Isom Invitational
Sophomores Jessica Barrand and Blair Spencer overcame adverse conditions to medal at the Ollie Isom Invitational Oct. 11 in El Dorado.
Barrand, a Topeka native that has emerged as Baker's No. 1 runner in the past two weeks, placed third with a time of 20:41 on the rain-deluged course. Spencer, last season's MVP from Alma, placed seventh with a time of 21:08. Junior Kerry Fitzgerald of Olathe placed 19th. In her first collegiate cross country meet, freshman Cara Langston of Tonganoxie placed 21st.
Three Wildcats sat out the meet due to injury and illness. Baker's next meet will be the Chile Pepper Festival Oct. 18 in Fayetteville, Ark.
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| Barrand |
Cowboy Jamboree
Jessica Barrand and Lindsey Christian ran personal best times to climb in the Baker record books and medal at the Cowboy Jamboree Sep. 4 in Stillwater, Okla.
The Jamboree, the oldest consecutive cross country race in the United States with races every year since 1937, featured over 200 runners and 20 teams in the women's college division alone. Barrand, a sophomore from Topeka, led the Wildcats in 11th-place with a time of 19:51. Christian, a junior from Atchison, placed 18th with a time of 20:01. The top 30 runners were given awards.
Barrand's 19:51 broke her old five-kilometer (3.1-mile) PR by 47 seconds and moved her from 19th to ninth on Baker's All-Time Fastest Women list, and moved her into fifth on the Fastest Sophomores list. Christian's 20:01 was a 55-second PR and moved her from 21st to 13th. It was the first five-kilometer race of the year for the Wildcats.
Woody Greeno Invitational
Despite a much-longer distance than they ran in their previous race, Baker's top three women finished within 20 seconds of each other at the Woody Greeno Invitational Sep. 20 in Lincoln, Neb.
The women started the season with a 3,200-meter (2-mile) race at the Maple Leaf Invitational Sep. 6 in Baldwin City before taking on the Woody Greeno, a 6,000-meter (3.75-mile) race. Lindsey Christian, junior from Atchison, led the Wildcats by placing 62nd in the 254-runner field with a time of 24:37. Sophomore Blair Spencer of Alma and Jessica Barrand of Topeka were close behind, with Spencer placing 76th in 24:54 and Barrand placing 80th in 24:57. It was Barrand's first race of the year after sitting out the Maple Leaf due to an appendicitis.
"As front-runners, staying close is what they need to do well this year and it was very pleasing to see them do that," head coach Rob Mallinder said.
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| Christian |
Maple Leaf Invitational
Junior Lindsey Christian and sophomore Blair Spencer started the 2003 season off right with a Top 10 finish at the Maple Leaf Invitational on Saturday, Sep. 6 in Baldwin City.
Christian ran a 12:44 to finish eighth, with Spencer right behind in ninth with a 12:47. Christian is the team captain, and Spencer was MVP last season as a sophomore.
In her first cross country race, sophomore Megan Smart finished 33rd in the 85-runner field with a time of 13:51. Junior Kerry Fitzgerald finished 44th with a time of 14:27.
Two Wildcats, junior Andrea Crall and sophomore Jessica Barrand, were not able to compete.
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| Spencer |
2003 Season Preview
Losing the most talented group of seniors in the program's history may
not even be enough to derail the Baker women's cross country team's hopes
of winning a fourth straight conference title.
The Wildcats have won the Heart of America Athletic Conference title every year since head coach Rob Mallinder took over in 2000 and made trips to nationals in 2000 and 2002 by winning the Region V title. Mallinder hopes to win a fourth straight conference title, but will have to replace four of the 11 best runners in the program's history.
"We have experienced athletes on our team," Mallinder said. "However, our team is young. Our returning athletes will be crucial to Baker four-peating as conference champions."
Leading the young guns will be 2002 team MVP Blair Spencer, who as a freshman often edged senior Jenny Schultz, a near All-American in 2001 and the program's second-fastest runner ever. Also at the front of the pack will be Spencer's classmate, Jessica Barrand, an outdoor track national qualifier in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Spencer never finished lower than second on the team during an impressive rookie campaign that placed her in the Top 10 All-Time. Barrand was consistently among Baker's top five runners and is 18th all-time. Though they were impressive as freshmen, Mallinder expects even more from them as sophomores.
"I expect they'll do much better because they're more experienced," Mallinder said.
Junior Lindsey Christian is likely to hold down the third spot on the team if she can stave off ailments. The promising runner started off 2001 and 2002 strong but struggled later in the season for a variety of reasons.
"Lindsey has the potential to be a top 10 conference performer," Mallinder said. "When she first came in, she beat (2002 senior and No. 3 runner) Molly Humphries regularly and wasn't too far behind Molly last year."
Baker's other returning athlete, junior Kerry Fitzgerald, has made improvements every year and is gaining a reputation as a runner who does her best at big meets. She proved that at the NAIA National Championships last year.
"She ran her fastest time of the year at nationals when no one else did on a tough course with less-than-ideal conditions," Mallinder said. "When it is important, she has the ability to step up."
While recruiting, Mallinder found several promising runners already on the Baldwin City campus. Sophomore Megan Smart was one of Baker's top sprinters during track season and showed even more promise as a middle-distance runner. She chose to run cross country this season and is similar to Humphries, a middle-distance runner in the winter and spring and a tough varsity runner in the fall.
Juniors Jamie Pulse and Andrea Crall and sophomore Kasey Barton will also be on the team. Crall was a sprinter on the track team during her freshman year, but quit due to leg injuries.
Mallinder said this year's squad reminds him of his first team in 2000. That squad featured two stellar front-runners, including All-American Liesel Kirk, and won the conference and region titles. While the two front-runners weren't a big factor in those championships, which feature 10 teams or less, it was a significant advantage for the Wildcats at the national meet. Last year's team was more balanced and dominated the conference and region championships. The 2003 team may have a tougher time at the conference and region level, Mallinder predicts, but should do very well if it makes it to nationals.
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| Spencer | Spencer |
May - Five members of the women's cross country team were named Heart of America Athletic Conference Scholar-Athletes for their academic success during the 2002-03 academic year. Seniors Kristi Anspaugh, Molly Humphries and Jenny Schultz and sophomores Lindsey Christian and Kerry Fitzgerald fulfilled the criteria set by the conference. The criteria are a minimum GPA of 3.40; a minimum of 60 semester hours, five semesters, and attended the nominating institution for at least two semesters prior to being nominated; and must be a varsity sport participant, having made a significant contribution to their team and school. Anspaugh, Humphries and Schultz were named All-American Scholar-Athletes in November.