Women’s Cross Country Announces 2007 Racing Schedule

Tribe Aiming for Return to NCAA Championships

08/08/07 4:00PM

WILLIAMSBURG - William and Mary’s women’s cross country coach Kathy Newberry announced the Tribe’s 2007 competition calendar today at the start of her third season at the helm of the College’s squad of harriers. Featuring the customary mix of top-notch regional and national competition, the schedule includes a pair of home meets as well as the 49th Annual High School Invitational.

Complete Racing Schedule

The season opens on September 8 with the Lou Onesty Invitational in Charlottesville, Virginia. A three-week hiatus follows, a time that include the W&M High School Invitational on September 22 at Eastern State Hospital. Now in its 49th year, the High School Invitational draws nearly 4,000 runners annually from all over the Eastern seaboard.

Competition for the College’s squad resumes on September 29th with the Colonial Inter-Regional Challenge at Eastern State. W&M will look to improve upon last year’s third-place showing against a deep field of teams from around the nation.

Two meets await on October 13, the Tribe Open in Williamsburg and the Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana. The Tribe Open annually showcases young and up-coming runners from around the state, and has been won by the College each of the past two years. The Pre-National Invitational is held on the same course as the NCAA Championships, and attracts a field of over 80 teams including most, if not all, of the national top-30.

Championship season starts on October 26 with the Colonial Athletic Association Championships, being hosted this year by Hofstra University at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York. The College is aiming for its fifth-straight and 15th overall conference title. The regular season draws to a close on November 3 with the Cavalier Open in Charlottesville, an individuals-only race that is invaluable in providing another racing opportunity for the younger members of the team.

The march to the national championships begins in earnest with the Southeast Regional Championship on November 10 in Louisville, Kentucky. One of nine regional meets taking place that day, the Southeast Region includes schools from Virginia, Kentucky, and the Carolinas, and awards two automatic bids to the NCAA Championships. William and Mary was the last team out of the national championships last year after finishing seventh in the region, and will aim for a top-five placing this year.

Saturday, November 17 will find at least part of the Tribe’s team at the 23rd ECAC Championships in New York City. The College had its best finish in school history last year, taking second by only four points behind four All-East performers. That same weekend, the top eight runners will hopefully be in Terre Haute for the 27th Annual NCAA Championships. In 2005, William and Mary finished 23rd at NCAAs in its first appearance there since 2002.

The Tribe returns four of its six All-CAA runners from last season, including senior Emily Gousen (Arlington, Va.) and sophomore Anna Brousell (Wilmington, Del.), who both earned All-East honors at the ECAC championships in addition to their top-10 billing at the CAA Championships.