We published a preview of the women’s cross country team yesterday. Today, we turn our attention to the men’s squad. Come cheer on both teams at the Creighton-UNO Invitational Saturday, September 5, at Chili Greens in Omaha (map here). First gun goes off at 8:00 a.m.
Liam Dawsom (front runner) is one of three upperclassmen on the 2009 men's team
The theme of the program (evident also in the women’s preview) is underclassmen. But while the women’s half has three senior leaders, the men’s squad is a senior-less team. The Jays’ roster is composed of 18 runners, only three of which are upperclassmen (all juniors).
The preseason poll has the Jays chasing the rest of the Missouri Valley Conference. The MVC coaches chose Chas Davis’ first team at CU 9th out of 9 teams (Missouri State does not field a men’s squad). But this isn’t limiting the optimism with which Davis operates. The timing is as good as any for Davis to introduce a new mentality that will change the program: with just three upperclassmen and a vast amount of experienced, young talent, this team is a blank canvas full of potential.
“I certainly feel that we can do better than ninth on both sides, but everyone realizes that we have much bigger goals by the time this ‘young’ team is a ‘veteran’ team. It will be fun looking back on those rankings in another two months and again in another two years to see how much things have changed,” Davis said.
Davis will no doubt rely on the leadership of his trio of juniors to begin the transformation of his program. This year’s men’s team captain is Jared Dittman, who hails from Omaha Central High School. A strong finish to the 2008 season saw Dittman lead the Jays at the conference meet as well as the NCAA Midwest Regional. Joining Dittman as the team’s only upperclassmen are Liam Dawson and Dan Barnet.
The sophomore class of runners gained valuable experience last year. Chris Culhane led the Jays in six of the eight races last season leads this group. Culhane has battled injuries over the summer, but looks to get back to the form that saw him lead the team as a freshman. Other top sophomore returning runners are Stephen VanGampleare, Casey Jergenson (brother of women’s captain Molly Jergenson), Chris Boitano, and Evan Daughtery. Rounding out the sophomores are Zach Fuller, Mitchell Knutson, and Ben McAnany.
The lack of senior runners did not stop Davis’ team from working hard during the summer.
“Steve VanGampleare and Jared Dittman arrived as fit and prepared as they’ve ever been, so we may be looking at a surprisingly packed top five,” Davis said.
Coach Davis was able to recruit a class of seven freshmen; not an easy task seeing as he began the process while still in Oregon. He is pleased with the runners that came to Creighton despite the distant recruiting process. These freshmen are eager to make their own mark on the program.
“I couldn’t be happier with the numbers that have invested in the program and the excitement they have brought with them. Mike Hitt, Mike Neisius and Mike Farley showed up in a big way at our team time trial and subsequent workouts, so the top squad may look quite different than a year ago.”
Joining Hitt, Neisius, and Farley are fellow frosh Tom Shimp, Kyle Serreyn, Trent Rogers, and Collin McDonald.
Expect fierce competition throughout the course of the season as they battle for spots near the top. The men will run against Wichita State at the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational. They’ll see Valley favorite Southern Illinois, Illinois State, and Indiana State at the Notre Dame Invitational. And two weeks before the conference meet they will run against SIU, Drake, Northern Iowa, Illinois State, and the Braves in the Bradley Classic, at the same course that hosts the MVC meet. Coach Davis sees these meets as a good measuring stick.
The 2009 season will be a learning process in more ways than one. On one hand, there’s a rookie head coach coming back to his alma mater to lead a program from the sidelines that he once led from the course. And on the other hand, a pack of hungry, young runners are eager to build on previous experience and work hard to improve Creighton’s program. And though it may happen in small strides, it seems like a recipe for success.