KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's cross country team begins the 2018 season at the Crusader Open on Friday, Aug. 31 starting at 6 p.m. (EST) at Sunset Hills Farm in Valparaiso, Ind. The Broncos are one of four participants including Notre Dame, Purdue and host Valparaiso.
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The 2018 squad features a total of 15 student-athletes, including three seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen.
After losing the 2017 Mid-American Conference Champion
Hanne Christensen from last year's team, the Broncos return NCAA Regional runners in senior
Sarah Anderson, junior
Juliane Sormain and sophomores
Courtney Allen and
Rebecca McNamee. Redshirt senior
Maria McDaniel looks to return for her final season after missing last two years due to injuries.
"We return a fantastic veteran leader and two time NCAA qualifier McDaniel and Mid-American Conference 800 Meter Champion in Anderson," noted Sheehan. "Sormain and Ritsema are also coming off some big improvements from the spring track and field season and both have already displayed signs of putting in some great work this off season."
Last season the Brown & Gold finished seventh at the MAC Championships while Christensen became the first Bronco to win the MAC Cross Country Individual Title since 1993. In arguably the toughest regional in the nation, WMU finished 16
th overall and improved its finish by three spots from the 2016 season.
Other returning runners include
Kayla Dominguez,
Brittney Hall and Ritsema. The freshman class consists of
Alexis Jenkins,
Chloe McEachern,
Kailyn Mince,
Lila Rode and
Paisley Sipes while
Olivia VandePol and
Cheryl White will make their first appearances with the Brown & Gold this season.
"We also add some fresh faces to the team that I believe will really excite Bronco fans for the future of our program," added Sheehan. "Between our newcomers and our returns, who have all improved, we are looking much deeper than we have in the past two years. The ladies have shown great efforts already and I'm excited to see what they can do."
The Bronco lone home cross country meet will take place on Friday, Sept. 7 for their annual George Dales Invite at the Pine View Golf Club. WMU will welcomes last year MAC Champions Eastern Michigan.
This year marks the 30th running of the Crusader Open, while Ritsema led the way last season as the Broncos participated in the Crusader Open to begin the year. The sophomore at the time placed 20th overall as WMU finished fourth in the Class-One Women's 5K.
"I am looking forward to the ladies opening up at the Crusader Open, which is hosted by Valparaiso," said Sheehan. "This is a great opportunity for them to come together and gain some early race experiences. Purdue and Notre Dame have historically helped make this a nice competitive race. It is also a great chance for our young ladies to learn how special it is to race in the Western Michigan singlet."
