2012 SLIAC Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships Preview

ST. LOUIS – The 2012 SLIAC Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships will take place this Saturday, October 27, at the Hillsboro Country Club & Park District in Hillsboro, Ill. The men's race is scheduled to start at 10:00am, with the women's race to follow at approximately 11:00am.

Webster University won the women's championship for the first time in school history in 2011 by the slight margin of five points. The Gorloks will face tough competition from five-time SLIAC champion Principia College. Principia dethroned Greenville College in 2010 after the Panthers had won six straight team Championships. Westminster College will also pose a threat for the team title, as the Blue Jays have run tight head-to-head with Principia in several meets this season.

Webster returns all five of its runners that helped capture the team title last season. Junior Heather Heisse posted the top 6K time for the Gorloks this season with a time of 23:28.0 at the Illinois College Invitational. Heisse, along with teammates Julie Greenough (So.) and Jane McKibben (Jr.), were all First Team All-SLIAC in 2011.

Principia is led by senior Casey Powell, who will look to repeat as SLIAC Runner of the Year with the individual title. Powell, who was First Team All-SLIAC last season, posted the top 6K time among the SLIAC women this season with 22:38.0 at the Illinois College Invitational. She has four of the top five times on a 6K course in 2012.

Principia's Sarah Litwiller (So.) also returns after earning SLIAC Newcomer of the Year honors last year. She was a First Team All-SLIAC honoree and has posted three top 15 times on a 6K course this season among the SLIAC women. Her best time was 24:00.0 at the Illinois College Invitational.

Westminster College has three runners who have posted top 15 times among the SLIAC this season. Kaily Downey (Sr.) was Second Team All-SLIAC in 2011 and has two top 10 times on a 6K course this year. Her best time was 23:25.0 at the Illinois College Invitational. Junior Sarah Koestner will be looking to dethrone Powell for the individual title after finishing 24 seconds behind her in last year's championships. Koestner was a First Team All-SLIAC honoree and has two top 10 times in the SLIAC this season. Her top time was 23:29.6 at the Brissman Lundeen Invitational hosted by Augustana College (Ill.). Junior Sarah Ogar also had two top 15 times, with her best outing at the Brissman Lundeen Invitational with a time of 24:16.4.

On the men's side, Spalding University senior Abram Deng will look to repeat as the SLIAC Men's Runner of the Year. He did post the top 8K time among the SLIAC men this season with 25:13.85 at the Greater Louisville Classic. He also holds four of the top 10 times this season. Teammate Haile Jemane, a junior, joins Deng as one of the top runners this year. Jemane earned Second Team All-SLIAC in 2011 and posted three of the top 13 times this year. His top time was 25:32.52 at the Wilmington College Fall Classic.

Principia College's Wylie Mangelsdorf, a junior, will challenge for the individual title. He has run extremely well this season with five of the top 13 times on an 8K course, including a best time of 25:44.3 at the Brissman Lundeen Invitational hosted by Augustana College (Ill.). Mangelsdorf, who was First Team All-Conference last year along with teammate Derrick Fleming (Jr.), will look to help Principia to a repeat of the team title in 2012. Fleming's top time this year was 26:27.0 at the Illinois College Invitational and ranked in the top 13 in the SLIAC. Also returning for Principia is sophomore Adam Rolph, who was named the 2011 SLIAC Newcomer of the Year. Rolph's best time this season was 26:22.1 at the Brissman Lundeen Invitational, and he had two of the top 13 times overall.

Greenville College has won 12 Men's Cross Country Championships, including 11 straight from 1996-2007. The Panthers return all but one runner from last year's squad that narrowly lost the team championship by 11 points. Junior Bryant Simpson and senior Ross Baker were both First Team All-SLIAC last year, while seniors Josh Dees and Nathan Young both earned Second Team All-SLIAC. Young posted a time of 27:05 at the Illinois College Invitational and was the top runner for Greenville in eighth place.

Women's Cross Country Championship Site
Men's Cross Country Championship Site