Sept. 2, 2010

PHILADELPHIA - As the Saint Joseph's women's cross country team returns it's entire squad, head coach Kevin Quinn is confident the team will be one of the strongest and most experienced in the programs history and contend for the Atlantic 10 title this season.

The squad is surrounded by a wealth of leadership with seniors Jessica Di Cicco and Christina Morelli returning for their second season as captains. "Christina and Jessica, as juniors, proved to be great captains and will equal or surpass their leadership accomplishments this year," says Quinn of the captain duo.

Di Cicco and senior Aimee Chegwidden are the top two runners on the team and have consistently grown into exceptionally strong runners. "Jessica and Aimee have grown into real distance runners," said Quinn. "They are serving as great examples to the younger runners and give us a solid one-two punch."

Morelli has also been a strong competitor who continuously finishes amongst the top three for the Hawks and is a solid leader on the team. Senior Laura Faller has been a consistent runner frequently in the top seven and looks to step up a level this season.

Kathleen Casey leads a large junior class, comprised of Katie Barrett, Beth Lambright, Samantha Peters, Kelsey Rose, and Elizabeth Welsh. The group has some of the stronger runners and will be the key to molding the experienced harriers with the newcomers.

"The junior class will be particularly vital to the team's success," said Quinn. "The younger runners are buying into the plan and this could well be the best team in recent memory."

Sara Walker and Maureen O'Donnell lead the sophomore class while Lena Finucane returns to the squad after red shirting her first season with the Hawks.

One of the largest freshmen classes in Hawk Hill history is composed of eight runners including Elizabeth Barrett, Emily Chappell, Hannah Fuller, Erin James, Darcy O'Connor, Paige O'Neill, Lyndsey Sample, and Emma Slattery.

The Hawks start off the season with two meets on the road at the Duquesne Duals (Sept. 4) and Penn State's Spike Shoe (Sept. 11). October is the beginning of the stronger competitions with meets at Paul Short (Oct. 1) and Princeton (Oct. 16) just before the Hawks head to the Atlantic 10 Championships (Oct. 30) in Pittsburgh.

Saint Joseph's closes out the season in November with the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals (Nov. 13) in State College and the IC4A Championships (Nov. 20) in New York.