Despite losing two vital runners from the 2008 team to graduation, including NCAA Championships individual qualifier Liz Wheatley and the team’s consistent number-three runner Anna Schindler, Wesleyan women’s cross country has high expectations for 2009. Team captain Ravenna Neville ’10 also qualified individually for the NCAA Championships and placed fifth in the New England Division III regional meet. Neville’s track season was also stellar, and she posted personal records of 17:55 in the 5k and 37:07 in the 10k. These improved performances allowed her to win both the NESCAC and Open New England 10k titles and provisionally qualify for the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships in the 10k.
Besides Neville, 2008 stars Amanda Jacob ’10, Jess Levin ’11, Sarah White ’11, and Tess Crain ’12 are also returning. Factoring in a class of outstanding recruits, the Cardinals certainly look likely to return to the NCAAs, where they haven’t been as a team since 2004, and improve on the 10th-place regional finish from 2008.
The Cardinals begin their 2009 schedule on Saturday with the annual Alumnae Meet. Their first intercollegiate match will be the Wesleyan Invitational, on Saturday, September 26, with the opponents to be announced.