Sept. 1, 2005

PHILADELPHIA - After 20 years directing the Saint Joseph's University women's cross country team, head coach Kevin Quinn knows better then to make predictions about young teams. Still, despite entering the 2005 season without a returning All-Conference performer for just the second time in his tenure, Quinn is optimistic about his team's potential. Although lacking depth and experience, the Hawks possess a solid core of young harriers who have the talent to position the Hawks as contenders for the Atlantic 10 Championship as the program enters its 25th season of competition.

The emergence of a front runner will be one of the keys for SJU this season. Several candidates, including juniors Ann Regan and Suzie McHenry, as well as sophomore Adrienne Beltz, have the ability to lead the pack.

Regan is the Hawks' most experienced returnee, but has yet to fully regain the form she displayed as a freshman in 2002 when she placed ninth at the A-10 Championship and captured All-Conference honors. The only rookie in program history to receive All-East recognition, she missed the entire 2003 season due to injury. She returned late last season and delivered promising performances at the Paul Short, Notre Dame and Lafayette Invitationals.

Coming off a superb sophomore season in which she was named the team's Most Improved Performer, McHenry has a legitimate chance to assert herself among the A-10's top distance threats. Consistently running second for SJU in 2004, she narrowly missed picking up All-Conference recognition after a 13th place finish at A-10s. She hopes a strong track season in which she qualified for the ECAC Championships in the 5,000 meter both indoor and outdoor will serve as a springboard for even greater success.

Beltz, the Pennsylvania AA state champion as a high school senior, burst onto the scene as a freshman picking up A-10 Rookie of the Week honors after finishing as the Hawks top runner in her first two collegiate races. She placed fourth overall at the Duquesne Duals and seventh at the Spikes Shoe Invitational. Injuries, however, kept her potentially contending for A-10 Performer of the Year honors.

Senior Marcy DeLorenzo, who will serve as one of the team's co-captains along with McHenry, provides the Hawks with veteran leadership. A seasoned performer, she should be a consistent scorer for the Hawks.

Beyond that quartet, SJU will look to a pair of talented and proven middle distance runners, senior Thuy Nguyen and junior Rebecca Powell, to stretch their legs and fill key positions in the team's lineup. Nguyen was the 2004 A-10 indoor and outdoor champion in the 800 meter and she and Powell were both members of SJU's All-Conference 4x800 relay team in 2005. Another senior Gen Story, as well as juniors Maddie Bell, Renee Spangler and Erin Kelly possess experience and should contribute.

As usual, the Hawks' schedule is again filled with competetive meets that should prepare SJU for the Conference Championships, which return to Fairmount Park's Belmont Plateau. The Crimson and Gray will open the season on the Plateau at the La Salle Invitational, in addition to participating at the Fordham, Spiked Shoe, Paul Short and Penn State Invitationals.

Although his team lacks experience and proven top scorers, Quinn believes his team has the talent to rank among the A-10's top teams. If the Hawks remain injury free and his young squad can run to form, expect the Hawks to be a contender for the Conference Championship in 2005