WILKES-BARRE -- The
King's College cross country teams enter the 2007 season looking to
continue their climb up the Middle Atlantic Conference ladder after the
steady improvement seen in recent years under sixth-year head coach Mike
Kolinovsky.
The men's team will look to crack the top-five in the MAC this season
due to the return of a strong group of senior runners, including
Ed Kopec (Forty Fort/Wyoming Valley West), Justin Winters
(Nanticoke/Nanticoke Area), and Derek Call (Downington/Downingtown
West). The three seniors have been very impressive early on with
their leadership and running ability and will set the pace for the
remainder of the squad.
Kopec
(left) in particular is expected to to emerge as a serious contender for
the MAC title. As a sophomore, Kopec was fourth in the conference
championship race but suffered from pneumonia last season and finished
14th. His healthy return this season figures to provide the Monarchs
with one of the premier runners in the MAC.
The junior class includes Vince Pecora (Highland Park/Immaculata),
Patrick Sammon (Dallastown/Dallastown), while sophomore Jay
Falcone (Stoughton, MA/Xavierian Brothers) also looks to contribute.
A talented group of freshmen including Brandon Sweeney (Cresco/Pocono
Mountain East), Mike Gavlick (Wilkes-Barre Meyers), Ryan
Glenn (Mountaintop/Crestwood), and Dan Byrne (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon
Central).
The men’s success will be determined by which underclassmen will raise
their level and run with the seniors.
The Lady Monarchs are a young team as the squad returns just three
women, including two of their top five runners. Five newcomers,
however, arrive and look to step in and make an immediate impact.
Leading the charge will be junior Kelley Wiedwald (Kingston/Wyoming
Valley West) and Julie Dural (Mountaintop/Bishop Hoban).
Senior Kaitlyn Musto (Dallas/Dallas) also adds experience and
looks to step into the top-five. With a large crop of first-year
teammates, all three runners will be counted on for providing much
needed leadership for an inexperienced group.
Weidwald
(right), who earned second-team All-MAC honors after a 19th place finish
as a freshman, looks to return to form after slipping to 25th as a
sophomore.
A talented group of freshmen including Heather Elphick (Pen Argyl/Pen
Argyl), Hannah Eckles (Tobyhanna/Pocono Mountain East),
Rachael Barto (Wilmington, DE/St. Marks), and Tori Posatko
(Dallas/Lake Lehman).
This team is much more talented than in recent years and the group is
becoming healthy again. Health will be a key factor in determining the
success of this squad.
