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The Tabor College cross-country team this fall includes: back row (from left), Coach Dan Swaney, Justin Ball, Dan Sigley, Ric Johnson; front row, Jera Teselle, Christina Addison, Julia Carlton, Leah Kopper, Elissa Richert. |
The Tabor College cross-country teams face a transitional season with the retire?ment of coach Karol Hunt. She had run the programs for 16 years but is focusing her full time and effort on teaching and administrative responsi?bil?ities.
?I am grateful to Tabor for giving me the opportunity to coach cross country these last 16 years,? Hunt said.
?There is never a good time to end a coaching career because of the athletes and the relationships. But the time commitment required to have a quality program now is much greater than my early days at Tabor.?
Dan Swaney took over for Hunt during the spring and will guide 13 runners this fall.
Swaney is a former academic all-American cross-country runner who studied history and education counseling while attending the University of Redlands (Calif.)
His coaching experience includes recent stop at Santiago Canyon College, where his teams competed in the SoCal regionals.
Swaney?s teams this fall will not be of large numbers, but many runners will be experienced competitors on conference courses.
The men?s team will be led by Dan Sigley, who placed third on the team (24th overall) at the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference meet at Bethany last year. Sigley?s time was 27:33.
Justin Ball finished 31st in with a time of 28:22 and Hills?boro High School alumnus Ric Johnson placed 39th in 29:06.
They will be joined by sophomore Matt Spurgeon and freshman Jacob Heil.
For the women, the Bluejays will almost certainly be paced by returning No. 1 runner Christina Addison, who placed ninth in the conference (20:31) at Bethany.
Jera Teselle placed 22nd (21:55), with Leah Kopper (24th, 22:07) on her heels and Julia Carlton (42nd, 23:51) not far behind. Also returning is Elissa Richert (48th, 24:55).
They will be joined by incoming freshmen Leah Blackburn (Littleton, Colo.), Erin Flaming (Denver, Colo.) and Heidi Schroeder (Hillsboro).
Tabor?s season begins Saturday at Baker University. The Bluejays? home meet will be at 10 a.m. Sept. 26 at Cottonwood Point, Marion Reservoir.
