Sixth year head coach and reigning CVAC men’s cross country Coach of the Year Gary Aycock fields an 11-runner roster that has high expectations for 2006. Aycock plans to guide a talented group of endurance athletes that are coming off their most successful season to date. In 2005, the Knights were victorious in four of seven races including claiming their first CVAC Championship title. They capped the stellar season with a second place finish in the NCAA DII Southeast Regional and a automatic bid to their first ever NCAA National Championship. Aycock looks to build on last year’s success with a young roster that features five letter winners and six freshmen.
The Lees-McRae men’s cross country team took the second spot in the coaches poll as they look to improve on last seasons second place finish in the CVAC Championship. The Bobcats are looking young again with six new faces; however there are five returnees to help with their depth. Coach Craig McPhail thinks this could be a quality group of harriers. “We have a lot of potential, especially when you look at the talent of the newcomers; Cody Beaman, Chris Holstein, and Jon Bernal, are three of the best freshmen I have ever brought in.” Junior Josh Blanc and sophomore Matt Barrett will help the newcomers get through the ups and downs of the season and guide them through the 8k and 10k distance runs. With good reason there is a lot of optimism in Banner Elk, NC over this year’s group of Bobcats.
The
CVAC Men’s Cross Country Pre-Season Poll
(# of
1.
2. Lees-McRae 87
3.
4. Pfeiffer 68
5. Coker (1) 56
6. Barton 54
7. Queens 43
8. Limestone 37
9.
10. Erskine 31
11.
2006 CVAC Men’s “Preseason Runners to Watch” List
(As selected by the member institutions)
Name: School: Year: Highlights:
Ethan Schaffner
Nate Parsons
Ransom Haitema Barton SO 2005 All-CVAC Honorable Mention
Corey Winner Barton JR
Alex Perwich
David Green Coker SR 2004 & ‘05 1st Team All-CVAC & 2004 CVAC Champion & Runner of the Year
Nathan Hansen Coker SR 2005 All-CVAC Honorable Mention
John Sell Erskine SR
Hunter Gaffney Erskine SR
Lewis Martin Lees-McRae SR 2005 CVAC Champion & Runner of the Year, ’05, 04’ & 03’ 1st Team All-CVAC, & ’03 Freshman of the Year
Brent Clausing, Limestone JR 3 top 5 finishes in 2005; 6th of 83 at CVAC
C.J. Eason Mount Olive So Trojans’ top returning finisher at 2005 CVAC meet
Tristan Thackston Pfeiffer So
Matt Tyndall Pfeiffer So
Ryan Connelly
Philipe Araujo
Tim Bourke