MARSHALL INDEPENDENT (© 2002 story reprinted with permission)
10-15-2002
Tigers aiming for success at SWC cross country
By Wayne Cook
Independent Sports Writer
MARSHALL � With the home-course advantage, the Marshall boys and girls cross country teams hope to continue their success in the Southwest Conference meet.
The Tigers host the annual SWC meet today at Independence Park. The boys have captured the boys championship the last three years, while the girls have won the race five of the past seven years. The boys � ranked in the state � are projected to be a runaway winner, while the girls are expected to battle Jackson County Central for first place.
Girls division
�It�s a toss-up,� Marshall coach Mike Jacobs said. The two teams have beaten each earlier this year. Marshall won by 20 points at the Tiger Invitational when the Tigers placed third and JCC fifth. The Huskies won by 20 points at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis.
�There were 400 runners spread out,� Jacobs said. �If you took all the other runners out of the race and we are head to head, they beat us by one (point). That�s how close it is.� Julia Schultz has been the pace-setter for the Tigers and is expected to challenge JCC�s Heidi Hildebrandt for individual honors.
�They are fairly close,� Jacobs said. �That�s one challenge right there ... to see who gets the edge. That could set the trend.� A year ago, JCC won the team title among SWC competition. This year, the Huskies had a runner move out of the school district, yet they are still state-ranked.
While JCC was being chased by the rest of the SWC teams last fall, two teams will be battling this week. Marshall is added to the mix. �Everybody basically has to have their best race of the year,� Jacobs said. �That�s certainly one way we can do it ... for everybody to do as well as they possibly can.�
The Tigers must find a way to close the gap between their third and fourth runners. �We�d like to close the gap between Julia (Schultz) and Traci (Pagel) and Breha (Holcomb),� Jacobs said. �If Jackson�s 4-5 runners get in that gap and push us back further, we could be in trouble. We need somebody to come up.� Laura Johnson has been the Tigers� fourth runner. �She works so hard,� Jacobs said. �If she has the heart to do it, she can have an outstanding run for us.�
Freshman Haley Meyer is also a key to the Tigers. �She has the speed to really challenge Julia and Traci,� Jacobs said. �She can give us the boost in the upper half of the group.�
Boys division
Marshall cruised through the field, including all of the SWC teams, in its invitational in early September. Pipestone Area does not have cross country. The Tigers have won nearly every race they�ve competed in, except for larger meets at Minneapolis and Alexandria. �It�s difficult to beat these guys if they run like they have all year,� Jacobs said.
Marshall has two of its top runners at full strength, while Jon Tauer is battling a hip problem. Despite the injury, he�s expected to compete. �He has to get it popped back in; it�s happened three times,� Jacobs said. �It takes three days to feel comfortable. He has the hardest work done (in practice).�
Yahya Iman and Akey Jumale are at full strength. Iman dropped out after two miles at Alexandria. He had a cheek infection and hadn�t practiced for four days prior to that meet. Jumale was battling a cold and had problems breathing at the Roy Griak meet. �Those guys are in good shape and running again,� Jacobs said. He said Salah Mohamed should be a contributor for the Tigers, who have had excellent pack running this year. After reporting late, Mohamed appears in mid-season shape.
The pack consists of Tom Allen, Jon Tauer, Bart Johnson and Abddillahi Awale. The latter, an eighth-grader, is quickly working his way up on the varsity as the No. 6 runner.
�He�s right in there,� Jacobs said. �He�s within 10 seconds of Tom and Jon. It�s bam, bam. �Usually, we have four guys who can beat each other. We have a nice situation with two guys running at the top of the race and, a half minute later, we have two more guys.� Johnson, the Tigers� seventh runner, has been consistently under 18 minutes.
-Courtesy Marshall Independent