Ball State University Athletics
Friday, September 1
CARMEL, IND. (NORTHVIEW CHRISTIAN CHURCH)
7 p.m.
Ball State University
at
Butler Twilight
Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Youthful Cross Country Squad Opens 2017 Season Friday
August 30, 2017 | Cross Country
While a majority of the roster is one year older, it will still be a youthful Ball State cross country team which takes the starting line at 7 p.m. Friday to open the 2017 season at Northview Christian Church in Carmel, Indiana, for the Butler Open.
Overall, 11 of the 14 student-athletes who make up the roster are underclassmen; and that remains an exciting prospect for third-year distance coach Raynee DeGrio.
"It's good we have a really young team this year," DeGrio joked. "It means I get to keep them for a couple more years."
Kidding aside, last year's youth movement saw a freshman lead the team to the finish line in six of the seven races, including the Mid-American Conference Championship.
"When our current sophomore class came in, they were told they were going to have to do a lot of the heavy lifting right away," DeGrio said. "They did a really good job of that last year, leading our team in six of the seven races. With a year of competition under their belts, they are prepared to make even more noise this season."
The Cardinals did make some noise last season, earning the program's first top-10 finish at the MAC Championship since 2012. Leading the Cardinals to the line that day was of course a freshman, redshirt Stephanie McElhaney, who crossed the finish line 41st among scored runners with a 6K time of 22:49.3. It was Ball State's best individual effort at the league meet since then-senior MaryKate Mellen placed 29th overall (22:29.0) in 2012.
In addition, Ball State's average time of 23:01 was its best at the MAC Championship since the squad placed eighth in 2011 with an average time of 22:51.8.
The Cardinals carried the momentum into the final race of the 2016 season, finishing with a 23rd-place showing at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. It was the program's best finish at the NCAA Regional since the 2007 season. In addition, all five of Ball State's scored runners topped all but two of the program's previous best times at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wis.
This season, the Cardinals are determined to build on the momentum from last year, something they have demonstrated from the opening day of practice.
"Our competitive energy has been a lot higher in practice this year than it has been in the past," DeGrio said. "It's exciting to see that high level of energy on a day-to-day basis. Hopefully, we will see it come to fruition on race day. We are ready to get out there and get the season rolling."
While the team has its sights set high for the season, the goal for opening weekend is to just go out and compete as a team.
"Our focus on Friday will be running as a pack," DeGrio said. "It's something we have been doing a really great job of in practice. The girls have been good about supporting and pushing each other. Hopefully, that will translate into a race. While we are not bringing all our top runners to Butler, we are going to have a really good team on the line and our goal is to win the race."
Looking at the team's season goals, they are also set high both collectively and individually.
"We have talked a lot about team goals, which is something we have not done a lot of in the past," DeGrio said. "Being such a new, inexperienced team last season, it was hard to set goals because our runners had not been to the conference meet or experienced an NCAA Regional meet.
"This year, we have talked a lot about what we want to accomplish as a team and how we are going to do it. While we want to keep our cards close to the chest, I can say for us to finish outside the top half of the conference would be a disappointment."
When 7 p.m. Friday hits, you can bet an excited coach and team will be ready for the gun.
"We are a different team than we have been in my first two years, and that is exciting," DeGrio concluded. "There will be a lot of new challenges for both myself and the team, but we are really excited to go out there and see what we can do."
Overall, 11 of the 14 student-athletes who make up the roster are underclassmen; and that remains an exciting prospect for third-year distance coach Raynee DeGrio.
"It's good we have a really young team this year," DeGrio joked. "It means I get to keep them for a couple more years."
Kidding aside, last year's youth movement saw a freshman lead the team to the finish line in six of the seven races, including the Mid-American Conference Championship.
"When our current sophomore class came in, they were told they were going to have to do a lot of the heavy lifting right away," DeGrio said. "They did a really good job of that last year, leading our team in six of the seven races. With a year of competition under their belts, they are prepared to make even more noise this season."
The Cardinals did make some noise last season, earning the program's first top-10 finish at the MAC Championship since 2012. Leading the Cardinals to the line that day was of course a freshman, redshirt Stephanie McElhaney, who crossed the finish line 41st among scored runners with a 6K time of 22:49.3. It was Ball State's best individual effort at the league meet since then-senior MaryKate Mellen placed 29th overall (22:29.0) in 2012.
In addition, Ball State's average time of 23:01 was its best at the MAC Championship since the squad placed eighth in 2011 with an average time of 22:51.8.
The Cardinals carried the momentum into the final race of the 2016 season, finishing with a 23rd-place showing at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. It was the program's best finish at the NCAA Regional since the 2007 season. In addition, all five of Ball State's scored runners topped all but two of the program's previous best times at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wis.
This season, the Cardinals are determined to build on the momentum from last year, something they have demonstrated from the opening day of practice.
"Our competitive energy has been a lot higher in practice this year than it has been in the past," DeGrio said. "It's exciting to see that high level of energy on a day-to-day basis. Hopefully, we will see it come to fruition on race day. We are ready to get out there and get the season rolling."
While the team has its sights set high for the season, the goal for opening weekend is to just go out and compete as a team.
"Our focus on Friday will be running as a pack," DeGrio said. "It's something we have been doing a really great job of in practice. The girls have been good about supporting and pushing each other. Hopefully, that will translate into a race. While we are not bringing all our top runners to Butler, we are going to have a really good team on the line and our goal is to win the race."
Looking at the team's season goals, they are also set high both collectively and individually.
"We have talked a lot about team goals, which is something we have not done a lot of in the past," DeGrio said. "Being such a new, inexperienced team last season, it was hard to set goals because our runners had not been to the conference meet or experienced an NCAA Regional meet.
"This year, we have talked a lot about what we want to accomplish as a team and how we are going to do it. While we want to keep our cards close to the chest, I can say for us to finish outside the top half of the conference would be a disappointment."
When 7 p.m. Friday hits, you can bet an excited coach and team will be ready for the gun.
"We are a different team than we have been in my first two years, and that is exciting," DeGrio concluded. "There will be a lot of new challenges for both myself and the team, but we are really excited to go out there and see what we can do."
Players Mentioned
XC
/ Cross CountryWednesday, May 27
Tuesday, May 12
Thursday, April 30
Friday, April 10