Manchester Tabbed as HCAC Women’s Cross Country Favorite

GREENWOOD, IN – Manchester College’s women’s cross country team has been selected as the front runner to win the 2010 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship. The Spartans tallied 98 points and eight first place votes in a poll of the conference’s ten head coaches. 

Franklin will look to dethrone the Spartans at the HCAC championships this fall, as the Grizzlies totaled a second-best 92 points and two first place votes.  Hanover College placed third in the poll with 72 points.  Anderson University finished fourth with 67 points and was followed by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (63 points), Defiance College (55), Earlham College (35), Bluffton University (25), Transylvania University (23), and College of Mount St. Joseph (20).

Manchester edged out second place Franklin to earn the 2009 HCAC cross country championship, posting the first women’s cross country title in school history.  The black and gold are set to return two top five finishers from a year ago.  Senior Jessica Bremer (Howe, Ind./Prairie Heights) placed third at the meet to earn First-Team All-HCAC honors.  Senior Megan Miller (Goshen, Ind./Northridge) crossed the finish line in fifth position, also earning All-HCAC accolades.  The tandem will try and lead Brian Cashdollar’s squad to back-to-back titles in October.

Franklin will try and reclaim the conference crown this fall after capturing the championship in 2008.  The Grizzlies finished six points behind the Spartans last season and return three First-Team All-HCAC selections, including the 2009 HCAC Most Valuable Runner Heather Waterman (Morristown, Ind./H.S.).  Waterman finished the 6K course in a time of 23:29 and will look for a second consecutive individual crown.  Juniors Shannon Egold (Cloverdale, Ind./South Putnam) and Holly Hatch (Crawfordsville, Ind./Southmont) also return after All-HCAC seasons in 2009, finishing 11^th and 12^th respectively. 

Hanover has been selected to finish third in 2010 after placing fourth last fall.  Junior Sara Lucas (Avon, Ind./H.S.) is the top returning runner from last season after placing ninth overall at the conference meet.  Senior Shawna McLetchie (Lexington, Ky./Catholic) and junior Rachel Moreland (Lawton, Mich./H.S.) placed 16^th and 20^th overall last fall to earn Honorable Mention All-HCAC honors. 

The 2010 HCAC Women’s Cross Country Championship is set for Saturday, October 30.  The event will be hosted by Transylvania University.

The 2010 women’s cross country season is set to begin on September 2.

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