Oct. 29, 2008 

Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championships Preview

PHILADELPHIA - La Salle's cross country team - winner of four consecutive women's titles and two straight men's titles - looks to add more hardware to the collection on Saturday, as the Explorers head to Charlotte, N.C., for the running of the 2008 Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championships.

The men, who were predicted by a poll of conference coaches prior to the season to finish first, are led by 2007 All-Conference honorees Trevon Rainford and Korey Edwards. The Explorers claimed the 2007 title with 37 points and will again look to outlast Richmond, which finished second with 54 points in last year's race.

Edwards was recently honored as the Atlantic 10 Performer of the Week after his eighth place overall finish at the Penn State Nationals to lift the Explorers to a sixth place team finish out of 28 teams. Rainford's fall resume includes a team-leading 17th place out of 106 runners at the Colonial Inter-Regional at the College of William & Mary.

Another Explorer to keep a close watch on is rookie Tyler Jones. Jones, a two-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honoree, has a second place overall finish at the Old Nassau Run to his name. He also crossed the finish line at Penn State in 49th place out of 306 runners.

Head Coach Charles Torpey likes his team's chances, but acknowledges the overall strength of the Atlantic 10 Conference and the superb racing it will take to win the title.

"The men's side will be competitive this year," Torpey said. "There are five or six teams [expected to contend]. UMass is ranked No. 1 in the conference right now and Charlotte has home course [advantage] and a guy (Adu Dentamo) picked to win the race. We expect to be in the hunt though."

The women won the crown last year with 52 points, 30 points ahead of second-place Richmond. Senior Mary Clare Parrott returns to the course for the Explorers after finishing 22nd overall last year. Former Explorer standout Rachel Papin graduated, but look for the freshmen - including Rookie of the Week honoree Caitlin Storbeck - to make a splash.

The freshmen certainly have already made a splash in events this season. Storbeck and classmate Stephanie Bearish have led the team in each of the races this season. Storbeck's accomplishments already in her young career include a 28th place finish out of 145 runners at the Old Nassau Run at Princeton and a 77th place finish out of 300 runners at the Penn State Nationals. Bearish has been in the top two finishers for the Explorers all season and led the team with a 72nd place finish at Penn State.

"We have a young team that doesn't have the experience, but they should perform well and be in the mix [for the title]," Torpey added.

The 2008 Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championships are being held on the Campus Course at Charlotte. The women's 5K race is scheduled for 10:00 AM, with the men's race to commence immediately following at 10:45 AM. Live audio and video streaming will be available through the Atlantic 10 Web site (www.atlantic10.org). Also be sure to check back here on GoExplorers.com for complete results immediately following.