Lawrence University Sports News

Contact: Joe Vanden Acker, Sports Information Director, 920-832-6878
For Immediate Release September 1, 2005

Cross country teams set for season's first meet this weekend

APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University cross country teams are set to compete in the first meet of the season this Saturday.

Lawrence gets its season under way when it travels to the St. Norbert College Invitational at Green Bay's Colburn Park. The first race begins at 11:00 a.m.

The Vikings welcome back a great deal of experience and talent, especially on the women's team, which finished second at the Midwest Conference Championships in 2004 for the second consecutive season.

The women's squad is paced by sophomore Cate Frazier (Green Bay), who finished third at the 2004 Midwest Conference Championships. She is joined by junior Colleen Detjens (Lisle, Ill.), a 10th-place finisher at season ago at the MWC meet. Lawrence's third returning all-conference runner from a season ago is senior Rachel Lucas (Apple Valley, Minn.).

Also returning are two of Lawrence's regulars from the top seven a season ago, sophomores Joy Manweiler (Princeton) and Alice Shepro (West Chicago, Ill.). The Vikings have a number of other runners returning, including senior Katie Kraemer (Suttons Bay, Mich.) and sophomore Clare Shinners (Madison).

New to the squad are junior Elizabeth Henry (Stevens Point), sophomores Kelsey Grubbs (Half Moon Bay, Calif.) and Clare Stielstra (Madison), and freshmen Julie DeBoer (Western Springs, Ill.), Christine Gebler (Crete, Ill.), Margaret Porco, and Tatiana Bulat.

The men's team is young and lost its top runner, Paul Schonfeld, to graduation. The Vikings will rely on a strong group of returning runners, led by juniors David Quinlan (Appleton), Mitch Goodman (Derby, Kan.), Phil Keith (Park Ridge, Ill.), and Will Daniels (Northfield, Minn.). Also back for the Vikings are sophomores Russell Geisthardt (Bloomer), Evan Jacobson (Oak Park, Ill.), and Corey Lehnert (Mequon).

The Vikings have three freshmen, Zach Keilholz (Colfax), Lincoln Thomas (Portland, Ore.), and Micah Thompson (Tyler, Texas).