Koch paces W. X-C at Districts

For a few elite teams, NCAA District Championships is a chance to qualify -- both individually and as a team -- for the National Championships. The Penn women's cross county team had about as much of a chance of qualifying for Nationals as Ralph Nader had in winning the presidential election. Nevertheless, the Quakers finished strong in Districts, with two top-50 finishes. Sophomore Kristen Koch led the Quakers pack in 33rd place with a time of 22 minutes and 21 seconds, while freshman Abbi Gleeson finished nine seconds behind her in 44th. The race was held this past Saturday at Penn State, and the 169-member field consisted of the top runners in the Northeast. In what seems to be a common theme this cross country season, the Quakers were not running with a full squad. Freshmen Cristen Butler and Erin Okawa were sidelined with tendinitis in the knee and shin pains, respectively, and freshman Vanita Spagnolo has not yet recovered from her breathing problems. Because of that, only four Quakers ran the race. Junior Sam Desposito finished 53rd in a time of 22:42, while senior Meredith Rossner finished in a time of 24:01. Penn distance coach Crickett Batz-Shaklee decided to only run four runners because of the young nature of the team. "Any increase of mileage for these young runners is a big increase," Batz-Shaklee said. "Cristen Butler is new to the sport, and Erin Okawa has had a history of stress fractures." The top three Quakers remained as a pack for the first two miles. In the last mile, Koch made a strong move to finish first on the Penn team. "Kristen finished very strongly," Batz-Shaklee said. "It is a very respectable finish." Batz-Shaklee also praised Rossner for her performance in the senior's final cross country race in a Penn uniform. "She may not be entirely happy with her performance in this race," Batz-Shaklee said. "But she was a great captain this year and kept the team together." Gleeson was enthused by her performance and is very optimistic for the upcoming season. "We definitely rebounded from Heps [Heptagonal Championships, where the Quakers finished last]," Gleeson said. "Our goal was to run together and we did." Gleeson also added praise for Koch. "Kristen ran really well," Gleeson said. "She's been a leader on the team this year." This was the last meet of the season for the Quakers, a rapidly improving young squad. They had previously not won a meet since 1997, and ended with four top-three finishes in team scoring in invitationals this year, including two wins. "They will be talented on the track," Batz-Shaklee said. The first official practice for the indoor track season is December 4 for the cross country runners, with the first meet January 13th. Although Penn did not meet all the goals it set this season, the runners can rest assured that this is a giant leap forward from last year's team.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.