Coaching Staff: Duane Gomez has coached the Ladies cross country team since 1983. He's been honored four times as the North Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and has collected several NCAA Division III Ohio Coach of the Year awards, as well. Under his direction, the Ladies won three conference crowns, had three student-athletes named NCAC Runner of the Year and one other named NCAC Newcomer of the Year. Gomez also had individuals and/or teams qualify for the NCAA Championship in 14 different seasons.
Sherry Miglin and
Mark Lattimore are back again as Gomez's assistant coaches.
Last Season: The 2016 Ladies had a turn-around campaign, claiming top-five finishes in all but their final race. The Ladies powered to a fourth-place finish at the NCAC Championship, which was their best showing in three years, and then capped off the season with a ninth-place showing at the Great Lakes Regional. The team drew enough attention at the end of the year that it will enter the 2017 season ranked by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association as the eighth-best team in the Great Lakes Region.
Team Makeup: The Ladies enter 2017 with a massive roster of 37 runners. The class breakdown is 10 seniors, 9 juniors, 8 sophomores and 10 freshmen. The team lost six seniors to graduation in May and three others left the team for various reasons. Depth and experience should not be issues with this team. Additionally, four of the Ladies' top scorers return from a season ago, so expectations are high.
Top Returnees: Before suffering an injury last season,
Quinn Harrigan led the Ladies to the line in the first three meets of the season. She returns as a junior and should be ready to lead the way again.
Molly Hunt, now a senior, had an excellent 2016 season and she'll be back at it after leading the Ladies at the NCAC Championship and narrowly missing out on All-Region honors. More low scores should come from juniors
Andrea Ludwig and
Lily Valentine. Ludwig was a top-five runner for the Ladies in all but one meet last season, while Valentine was strong before missing the last few weeks.
Grace Moses and
Tate Serletti also had success as freshmen last season and will push the upperclassmen this season.
Significant Losses: Six seniors, including
Harlee Mollenkopf and
Claire Naughton, were lost to graduation. Mollenkopf was a key player. She scored points for the Ladies in six meets and was the quickest Kenyon runner to finish three different races in 2016. Those finishes included a 40th-place showing at the Great Lakes Regional. Naughton also contributed, especially late in the season. She was the Ladies' top runner at the All-Ohio Championship.
Team Strength: Depth, without question. The Ladies have a long list of returning runners and nearly all of their top scorers are back. Coach Gomez likes the strength of his freshman class and thinks that a couple of them might be able to contribute right away. There's plenty of room for competition and the Ladies' stacked roster looks like the team is ready to take things to the next level.
Potential Problem: Health. For whatever reason, this team gets hits by the injury bug year after year. If the Ladies can stay healthy it looks like a good season is in store. They just need to figure out a way to avoid the black and blue and have their best group of runners producing their best times at the end of the season.
Schedule Check: Aside from some date changes, the Ladies' schedule is identical to last year. They'll open the season with annual home tri-meet on September 1 and then head to invitationals at Ohio Wesleyan and Otterbein. Following that, they'll compete in the All-Ohio Championship at Cedarville and the Inter-Regional Rumble at Oberlin. The postseason has the Ladies running in the NCAC Championship meet on October 30 and then the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on November 11.
