John Brown University's women's cross country team finished fifth overall in the Sooner Athletic Conference, and that's about where head coach Scott Schochler thought the Golden Eagles would wind up.
"Last year we did not have an athlete on our women's team that could really challenge or be at the front of a race," he said. "We had five really solid runners, but nobody who could get to the front of the race like Josh (Uzelac) on the guys team. That really limited how well we could do at the conference meet."
Schochler paused, and then added, "I think that's changed this year."
The Golden Eagles open their season on Saturday at 8 a.m. at the Missouri Southern Stampede in Joplin, Mo.
JBU has 10 runners on its roster, seven of which were on the team last year.
The Golden Eagles have three seniors in Kaitlyn Collier, Abigail Danley and Jennifer Poole.
Danley (5-foot-4, Carl Junction, Mo.) is a hard-working student athlete, according to Schochler.
"She's never missed a practice," he said. "She makes sure everybody's there that needs to be."
Collier (5-5, Springdale Har-Ber) is going to be one of the Golden Eagles' top five or six runners this year, Schochler predicts.
"She keeps our team nice and relaxed and laughing all the time as well as putting in the hard work," Schochler said. "She never had the race we expected last year, so I'm excited to see what she can do this year.
Poole (5-5, Conway) has been limited by injuries the last couple of years, but she has potential to be among the leaders, Schochler said.
"She's in good shape and looks like she's going to have a healthy year and help us out," he said.
Carly Coney and Reagan Roth, both juniors, were the Golden Eagles top runners last season as sophomores.
Coney (5-6, Sand Springs, Okla.) was very close to running a breakthrough race last year, Schochler said.
"But she never had one, which was frustrating for her as a runner and me as a coach," he said. "She's already faster this year. We're expecting some very strong races from her this year and hopefully we'll see that breakthrough race from her early this season."
Roth (5-3, Edmond, Okla.) also was close to having that breakthrough race, Schochler said.
"She's come in and is much faster in workouts than she was last year," he said. "Hopefully that big performance is coming early in the season for her. She's going to be one of our top scorers all year long."
Schochler expects junior transfer Kylie Tucker (5-8, Kansas City, Mo.) to be among the top runners.
"She's come in great shape and is always at the front of the team in workouts and likes to compete," Schochler said. "Hopefully we'll see that in races very quickly, and I'm expecting Kylie to be one of our top three or four runners all year long."
Junior Hannah Fiser (5-7, Little Rock Christian) ran cross country in high school, but she chose not to run her first two years of college.
Fiser joined the Golden Eagles last spring and is already making an impact.
"She's always at the front of the team during workouts," Schochler said. "She's put in a lot of work this season. She's a nice new addition that's going to help us a lot this year in meets."
Junior Erin Green (5-9, Edmond, Okla.) continues to improve, Schochler said.
"She looks so much better coming into this season," he said. "She is improving each week and as a coach that's fun to see."
Junior Haley Newcomb (5-6, Bolivar, Mo.) is another hard worker for the Golden Eagles.
"She's one of those people who really helps the team out in workouts," Schochler said. "Every now and then she has a really good race for us. I think she's going to race well this year and score for us at some meets."
The Golden Eagles are excited about their only freshman, Sarah Larson, out of Trinity Academy in Wichita, Kan.
"She was teammates with (boys freshmen) Ben Martin and John Unruh in high school," Schochler said. "Sarah is going to be good. She is very competitive. She does not like to finish anywhere than at the front of things. I think she may end up being our No. 1 runner from day one and really help our women's team have some much better performances than we've seen in a while."
Sports on 09/13/2017