Aug. 21, 2008

Fairfield, CT - The SHU Women's Cross Country team has been slated to finish third in the NEC preseason coaches' poll, released today. The Pioneers received a first place vote in the poll and will look to make that vote a reality in the 2008 season.

Quinnipiac is the odds on favorite to capture its fourth straight NEC crown, racking up 9 of the 11 total first place nods. Monmouth received the final first place vote and is ranked second in the poll. The two Pennsylvania teams, Saint Francis (PA) and Robert Morris, were picked fourth and fifth respectively. Central Connecticut, Wagner, and Mount St. Mary's fill in the middle of the field, in that order. Long Island, Farleigh Dickinson, and St. Francis (NY) round out the poll.

SHU has never finished lower than fifth and has finished in the top four in seven consecutive NEC championship races. However, the only title to their credit is in 2005 when they shared the NEC crown with Quinnipiac. The Pioneers will not lose any of their scoring runners from last year's championship race.

Christian Morrison, the program's 15th-year head coach, led a youthful batch of harriers last year, many of whom return this season with one more year of experience under their belts. The 2007 NEC Rookie of the Year and team's first-place finisher, Kimberly DeLoreto (Hillsdale, NJ), returns as a sophomore after garnering an all-conference team honor with her eighth place performance at the league event last year.

Also back are all-NEC junior Sarah Tencza (Succasunna, NJ), who landed 12th overall (18:48.2), sophomore Samantha Troy (Lebanon, CT) after a 22nd-place finish at last year's championship meet, and sophomore Erin McPherson (Marlborough, MA), the Pioneers' fourth-best finisher.

Sophomore Dana Troy (Lebanon, CT), a three-time NEC Rookie of the Week last year, also returns. Troy was hampered by a viral infection at last year's championship race. She has the talent to put up very fast times and compete for All-NEC honors.

Back in the fold after a redshirt year in 2007 is senior Kathleen Henry (Basking Ridge. NJ). Henry finished fifth at the NEC meet to earn NEC Rookie of the Year honors in 2005, and took home her second consecutive fifth place finish in 2006.

The season looks bright for the Pioneers who in total return 3 All-NEC runners, two of whom have won NEC Rookie of the Year. The Pioneers quest for an individual season championship begins September 6 at the Fordham Invitational.