After two top-five finishes, the Rutgers women's cross country team will test themselves against some of the nation's top competition in the Paul Short Invitational held at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.
The Paul Short Invitational is one of the largest cross-country meets in the region and it will feature several top ranked Division I-III teams.
"There are six or seven nationally ranked teams and it's a tremendous test," said head coach James Robinson. "We get a chance to see top-notch competition, and it is great preparation for future races since we have the Metropolitan and Big East Championships coming up."
Robinson has credited the work of new assistant coach Jan Merrill-Morin for the team's improvement. Merrill-Morin was a 1,500-meter finalist at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and has been brought in to work with the distance runners.
"The team as a whole is working hard and Jan has done a great job coming in and working with the distance runners," Robinson said. "It is still pretty early and we are just looking to improve as we move towards the Big East Championships."
The Knights are led by senior Cheyenne Ogletree who is coming off back-to-back wins in the Fordham Fiasco and Monmouth Invitational. Ogletree was also the first Rutgers runner since 2002 to compete in the NCAA Cross Country Championships last season.
"Cheyenne has really shown a commitment to coach Jan's training and has benefitted from it," Robinson said. "She has committed to making decisions that will lead to her success and not only in athletics. She's reached that point where she's matured and become dedicated. She wants it, wants to be an elite cross-country runner."
The Knights have also got strong performances this season from Alison Caruana who is coming off a fifth place finish at Monmouth and Asha Singh. Both will need to be in top-form if RU is going to be a factor in the race.
The race Friday morning is scheduled to begin at 11:45 a.m.
Be the first to comment on this article!