Men's Preview

DETROIT (8/29/2013) -- The 2013 cross country season will officially get underway on Friday as the University of Detroit Mercy men and women will head to enemy territory in Rochester Hills for the Golden Grizzly Open.

The event – scheduled for 5:30 p.m., at the OU Cross Country Facility – will also feature host Oakland along with a few other local schools in Macomb CC, Mott CC and Oakland CC. The women's 4k race will be first followed by the men's 5k.

"The season opener is really about testing the fitness level and just seeing where the team is at this point," said Coach Murray. "Almost everyone will run and sometimes in a race, you can sort things out better than in practice. It will be competitive and will help get the rust off to start the year as we prepare for the Running Fit – Detroit Titan Invitational next week."

Results of the race will be posted as soon as they are available.

SEASON PREVIEW
The Titan women come into the season with high hopes thanks to an experienced-laden class, which features five seniors and a pair of juniors. Overall, four of the top seven runners from last year's fourth-place finish at the Horizon League Championship are back, including First Team All-HL selection Louisa Coppola.

"On paper, we have a lot of talent and a lot of people with good credentials," said Director of track and field and Cross Country Guy Murray, who will be entering his 21st season as a coach at his alma mater. "The key to this group is staying healthy and we are taking that long view approach."

Coppola is one of the five seniors in 2013 and she made an immediate impact last year after transferring from Macomb Community College. She was the Team MVP despite running in just five races on the year. In the four 5k's she ran, she clocked in under 20 and lowered her time in each event ending with an 18:18 effort and a fifth-place finish at the Horizon League Championship. The All-Horizon League First Team member was the first Titan in the top five since 2005, while her 75th-place finish (21:55) at the 6k NCAA Great Lakes Regional was the eighth best by a UDM harrier in school history.

"Louisa is a very talented runner and we expect her to pick up where she left off last year and be a better front runner than she was," said Coach Murray. "Last year, she had an injury early that kept us back, but with a year under her belt here, she knows what we are trying to do and I know her a little better and those two things will help us improve."

Senior Torrie Eger is back and is looking to pick up where she left off last season. The fourth-year harrier started to turn it on towards the end of last season, lowering her career 5k in her last four races and posting a 6k PR at the NCAA GLR. Another veteran on the team is senior Rachel Hofsess, who will look to overcome an injury that hindered her last year. After opening the season with a 4k PR at the Golden Grizzly Open, she just missed running under 20 in the 5k on three occasions.

"Torrie has been healthy for her longest stretch and she is primed for a big senior season," said Coach Murray. "We have figured out some things with Rachel and some injuries she has dealt with, but between that and her nursing major, she has been able to put in the miles and stay fit."

Two others seniors are on the roster and looking to rebound from injuries that forced them to miss all of 2012 in Katie Weishaar and Ciara Curley-Poppe.

"Both Ciara and Katie missed last season with an injury but for Ciara, if she stays healthy and can run to her abilities, that can really bolster the team," added Coach Murray.

The junior class has a pair of standouts in Zeinab Baydoun and Sara Taylor. Baydoun was a Co-Team MVP as a freshman in 2011, but she ran in just three races last season before an injury ended her sophomore campaign. She has already broken 20 four times, including both of her 5k's a year ago. Taylor was named the Most Improved Runner last season as she lowered her career 5k time in five-straight races at one point, including under 20 twice. She then went on to take more than four minutes off her 6k time at the NCAA GLR finishing in 23:53.

"I think it was big that Sara realized she can do this and she can help us and she earned the Most Improved in both cross country and outdoor track last year," said Coach Murray. "For Zeinab, if she can regain her form as a freshman, where she was our Team MVP and scored in track, that will be a big benefit for us."

There are five underclassmen on the roster with the most experienced of the group being sophomore Haley Morairty. She ran in all nine events last season recording her 5k career best of 20:50 at the Horizon League Championship.

The other four runners are all new to the squad in sophomore Ellery Alexander and freshmen Navica Colonna, Devon Sutton and Samantha Zakalowski. Alexander was a member of the Titan women's lacrosse program as a freshman, but she was a runner in high school. Colonna was ninth at the OAA Blue Division Championship as a senior, while both Sutton and Zakalowski were All-State as preps.

"Haley ran in every race last year so she has a lot of experience coming back and I think some of our newcomers can help us right away," said Coach Murray. "Devon should be an immediate impact as she has that capability and Samantha can definitely do it and will get better as she adjusts to the miles."

The Titans will mostly have a local Midwest schedule with three meets in Michigan and one apiece in Indiana, Louisville and Pennsylvania as they get ready for the Horizon League Championship – held in Youngstown, Ohio – and the NCAA Great Lakes Regional – hosted by Wisconsin.

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