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UIC Athletics Fall 2007 Preview: Cross Country July 24, 2007 The UIC cross country program enters the 2007 fall campaign with high hopes following a historic season a year ago. MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY Coming off the best conference finish in school history, the UIC men's cross country team is primed to continue their rise among the Midwest's top programs.
Last year head coach Jim Knoedel saw his men's squad persevere and claim its first-ever second-place finish at the Horizon League Championships. Two All-Horizon League finishers paced the way in Joseph Mbari (7th/26:01.65) and Jim Sulzberger (13th/26:19.65), along with veteran Sam Watson (15th/26:40.65), Horizon League Newcomer of the Year Nic Aubert (20th/27:10.90) and the sturdy Jorge Flores (21st/27:14.20) giving the Flames five Top 25 finishers. Three of those standouts return for this year's go-around, as Mbari, Aubert and Flores give the Flames a potent veteran force to compete for top finishing honors all season long. Mbari is a two-time All-Horizon League honoree who should continue to take the reigns as the squad's top finisher. After a solid year of experience, talented runners like Alex Sutphen, Thomas Chin, Tom Schutzius, Mark Riggs, Dan Cline, Josh Bland and Farahadoon Durrani will also seek to take another step in their development and help UIC maintain its standing as one of the Horizon League's best. New legs include Christian Enriquez (Plainfield South), Jake Johnson (Winnebago), and Roger Pinon (Quigley). After some memorable individual accomplishments and team finishes on both league and regional levels, the UIC men's cross country team will treat 2007 as another rung in the ladder to climb on its way to achieving its title-winning goals. WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY The UIC women's cross country team will reload after the loss of three seniors who gave the Flames a lot of mileage in two-time All-Horizon League First Team finisher Laura Macias and fellow leading runners Susana Martinez and Lisa Petty.
Senior Kerry Brennan, who has made huge strides despite injury, will lead UIC's young running core. Sophomore Mary Kate Carrick is UIC's best returning league finisher, edging Brennan by just over two seconds in last year's Horizon League Championship race with a 20:38.50. Mary Brennan, Kerry's younger sister, had a fine rookie season in 2006. After a Top 35 finish at last year's league meet, she will also have high expectations for a strong sophomore showing. Veteran Danyelle Somerfield enters her junior season and has provided steady points during her young career. Julie Cain and Dena Zak are also back to shore up the experience of UIC's youthful group. Eight new faces will join the Flames' distance side. Kristen Heckert (Kaneland) returns to her home state after competing Murray State the last two years, while Stephanie Johnson (Oswego), Lindsay Kotovsky (Lockport), Catalina Marquez (Tinley Park), Lindsey McNamara (Brimfield), Naomi Mwangi (Makwa Secondary School in Kenya), Olivia Myers (Normal) and Kristin Scolarici (O'Fallon) will make their collegiate debuts this year. SCHEDULE The Flames will not have a heavy travel schedule this fall as all of this season's meets are in the state of Illinois before the Horizon League Championships, which are in nearby Valparaiso, Ind.
The annual UIC Home Opener at Horsetail Lake in Palos Hills will take place on September 1st at 10:00 a.m. Two weeks later UIC will head to Normal, Ill. to compete in the Illinois Intercollegiate Invitational on September 14th, followed by the annual Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational hosted by Loyola at Montrose Avenue Beach on September 29th. The Flames will get one last test before the conference meet at the Bradley Classic in Peoria on October 12th. On October 27th the Horizon League Championships will be hosted by new member Valparaiso, and the NCAA Regional Championships take place on November 10th in Peoria. With many young runners and quality upperclassmen to guide them, the UIC cross country teams should continue to cement their place as championship-contending groups willing to work hard and go the distance to finish at the top.
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