St. John's University Athletics
Red Storm Cross Country Season Preview
9/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
The St. John???s cross country team looks to stride towards excellence this fall. The Red Storm returns several veteran runners and welcomes a strong incoming class of freshmen.
"We are very excited about this fall and look forward to seeing some real progress," said head coach Jim Hurt. "The fall season will be much improved as we have a team talented up front and a group of runners who can form a very tight pack."
Leading the pack of returners is senior Jodey Johnson. The Jamaican native is a Susan Kearns award winner, which is given to the Red Storm???s most valuable runner, and is ready to finish her final cross country season on a high note. In 2005, Johnson crossed the line in sixth place at the St. John???s Fall Festival, eighth place at the Quinnipiac Invitational and 14th at the Metropolitan Championship, where she clocked in with a season best 19:47.0.
Senior Kristen Levy is another key returner for St. John???s. Levy was one of the most improved runners last season for the Red Storm. She recorded her best performance at the Metropolitan Championships, finishing the 5K course in 22:31.0. Junior Nerissa Pelle and sophomore Rakibat Abiola are also back and ready to make their presence known. Pelle, a talented middle distance runner, ran her best race at the Quinnipiac Invitational last spring in a time of 25:27.9. Abiola, meanwhile, ran consistently in her freshman year, crossing the line with a personal best at the Fordham Invitational in 21:03.0.
The Red Storm newcomers include Sarah Fry, Monique Major, Erika Otero, Pam Petruski and Sara Tackett. Fry clocked in at 20:30 for the 5K and earned her high school team???s Most Valuable Player award her junior and senior seasons. Major???s best time was 21:08, and she was her team???s MVP her senior year. Otero helped lead her squad to three straight undefeated seasons while Petruski ran the 5K in 20:15 and was named All-Group NJ in both cross country and track. Tackett crossed the line in the 5K in 20:54, and she was a four-time regional qualifier and a member of the NEC first-team all four years. She also helped lead her squad to four NEC Championship titles.
"Each incoming runner has the capability of immediately contributing to St. John???s success as their presence provides depth and pushes the veterans," said Hurt. "They each bring unique talents and are also able to push each other and run together in a tight group."
The 2006 cross country campaign gets underway on Saturday, Sept. 2 in Sea Cliff, N.Y. The team will compete at the Peter Speranza 5K Run, which is a charity race that helps raise money for the SCO Family of Services program. The following week, the Red Storm begins its competitive schedule at the Hofstra Invitational at Bethpage State Park, before racing at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Fordham Invitational. St. John???s then travels south to Fairfax, Va. the following Saturday to compete in the George Mason Invitational to round out the month of September.
October begins with the Metropolitan Championships at Van Cortlandt Park on Friday, Oct. 6th and then the Red Storm hosts the Fall Cross Country Festival on Sunday, Oct. 15th at Cunningham Park in Queens, N.Y. St. John???s heads to Boston on Friday, Oct. 27th to compete at the BIG EAST Championships at Franklin Park. The Red Storm will then race at Van Cortlandt Park against some of the best team???s in the eastern region at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships on the Saturday. Nov. 11th and then at the ECAC Championships on Saturday, Nov. 18th. The team then closes out its schedule on Monday, Nov. 20th at Indiana State University in Terra Haute, Ind. at the NCAA Championships.
"Once again we have a quality schedule geared to get us ready for the BIG EAST Championships, which is arguably the best conference in the United States," said Hurt. "We run at historic Van Cortlandt Park four times and also compete at Franklin Park and in Fairfax, which means we compete at some of the top courses on the east coast. It gives us a very competitive schedule."