This is the first of two Creighton Cross Country previews White & Blue Review will publish before Saturday’s Creighton-UNO Invitational. Check back Friday for a preview of the men’s team.
Women's captain Molly Jergenson (second left) leads the 2009 Creighton cross country team
The votes have been cast and counted, and the Missouri Valley Conference coaches’ preseason poll is complete. The league’s coaches have tabbed Creighton’s women’s cross country team 9th this season, one spot better than their 10th-place finish in the MVC meet last year. But a new coach with a new mentality, a few veteran runners, and lots of new faces has the Bluejays looking to improve on that ranking this upcoming season.
Head coach Chas Davis begins his first campaign with a roster of 22 runners. The Jays lose just one runner of the eight that ran at last year’s conference meet. Of those 22, just eight are upperclassmen. Those three seniors and five juniors will pace the team this year and lead the way for the younger runners.
This year’s captain is Molly Jergenson. The senior from Millard North High School consistently led the women’s team last year. Coming into the season she has run a personal best 18:39 for a 5K race, which she accomplished last season.
She’s joined on this year’s squad by fellow seniors Celeste Lorenzo and Melissa Greig. Lorenzo returns to the squad after a year of not competing, while Greig has battled injuries the last couple years and seeks an injury-free senior season.
“We are excited to have both back, healthy, and looking to factor into team scoring in a big way,” Davis said.
Four runners from last year’s squad make the transition to upperclassmen in 2009: juniors Aubrey Inman, Carleen O’Brien, Ashley Altrichter, and Lily Kaftan.
Leading the sophomore class is Ally Lynn. She gained valuable experience running amongst the best the Valley and the region had to offer. Other sophomores eager to make an impact in the program are Genna Alander, Ellen Fisher, Elizabeth Timberlake, and Molly Miller.
Davis welcomes 10 newcomers to his first CU women’s squad, including junior Jacque Parker and nine freshmen.
Parker, a Colorado native, spent two years at Gonzaga University where she did not compete in cross country. Davis said Parker and the other new runners are ready to get their Bluejay careers underway this weekend at the Creighton-UNO Invitational in Omaha this weekend.
“Hannah Connealy and Kara Telfer as well as Jacque Parker are really setting a new standard,” Davis said.
Connealy, from Whitman, Nebraska, and Telfer, from Underwood, Iowa, are just two of the freshmen competing with the veterans of the program, pushing the team to get better from top to bottom.
“We may have the deepest top five to six this women’s team has ever had,” Davis said.
Just over two weeks of practice and Davis likes what he sees out of his team. He is getting cooperation from his runners.
“When you change expectations so quickly, sometimes you meet some resistance, but everyone appears fully ‘aboard’ and excited to be doing what they are doing. That’s the best part – that they believe and are willing to sacrifice, because it’s only going to get more challenging from here,” he explained.
The challenge comes not only from the busy life of a student athlete but also the tough competition they will face. But the Bluejays will have opportunities to run against other MVC teams before the big Valley conference meet at Bradley. They will run against Valley preseason favorite Wichita State at the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational. They’ll see 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.
“Drake and Bradley are two of the teams in the conference that will be especially important to see as those are the teams that should be within striking distance this season,” he stated.
Coach Davis has the CU women making significant strides of improvement as they gear up for the first meet Saturday. The weather should be beautiful, so come to Chili Greens (72nd and Spring) to watch the Creighton cross country program take on Nebraska-Omaha, Nebraska-Lincoln, and York College at the CU-UNO Invitational.