A deeper and improved women’s cross-country team has started off the 2002 season strongly.

The women’s team started their 2002 season by finishing fifth out of 12 teams at the St. John’s Invitational on Sept. 7. The Scots finished ninth place out of 16 teams in the Luther (Iowa) All-American one week later.

While the Scots have shown great depth in the young season, both squads have been led by outstanding individual performances. Emily Koller ’03, who competed in the Division III national championships in the 1,500-meter last May and is also a star forward for the basketball team, has gotten off to an outstanding start to her cross-country career by leading the Scots in both races. At St. John’s, Koller finished seventh out of 69 runners with a 5,000-meter time of 20:30 and then finished 15th out of 127 runners at Luther, crossing the line at 19:32.

“Emily’s a good runner—the sky’s the limit,” said teammate Renee Schaefer ’04.

The women’s team, which finished seventh in the MIAC last year, should be among the top conference teams this season. Captains Marnie Christensen ’03, Lesley Benton ’03 and Maureen Mullikin ’04 return to lead the Scots. The Scots were also given a boost by a strong recruiting class, as four high-school state qualifiers—Caroline Barnes, Koby Hagen, Emily Stafford and Francis Streich—have joined the team.

The Scots have confidence in third-year head coach Jordan Cushing as she leads an improved Macalester team. “We really believe in her philosophy,” Schaefer said. “She’s also very understanding of the team’s needs.”

Cushing’s training program for the team involves a variety of activities. On Tuesdays, the team does interval runs, then on Wednesday, the team runs harder at a medium distance. On Thursdays, the team trains in the pool. Fridays are easy runs before the team races on Saturday, and on Sunday, the team does a scheduled workout.

The Scots will compete in the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational tomorrow at 9 a.m., at the ‘U’s Les Bolstad Golf Course in St. Paul. “It’s a huge meet, everybody knows about it,” Schaefer said. “It’s a circus atmosphere and sometimes it’s hard to focus, but it will be a lot of fun.”

Macalester is aiming for a high finish at the MIAC Championships on November 2. “We have strong runners, and Emily and the first-year class have given us more depth. It’s hard to say how we’ll finish, but if we do what we’re capable of, we’ll surprise some teams,” Schaefer said.

The Scots are also looking for a strong performance in the Central Regionals in Grinnell, Iowa on November 16.