October 29 , 2003
Haven Cross Country To Challenge For PSAC Championships
   
  (Lock Haven, Pa.) -  The Lock Haven University men’s and women’s cross country teams travel to Bloomsburg University for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Cross Country Championships this Saturday, November 1. The women’s race will begin at 11 a.m. with the men’s to follow at 12-noon. Both teams will be racing for their first-ever PSAC title.  
            The Bald Eagles, ranked 14th nationally, enter the race as one of the team favorites along with 13th-ranked Edinboro University who has won 11 straight PSAC titles.  Junior Chris Cowan (Horseheads, N.Y./Thomas A. Edison) will be a favored front runner for The Haven.  Cowan, who has finished with All-PSAC honors for the past two years and was named PSAC Rookie of the Year in his inaugural season, will again be vying for the individual title this year.
           Cowan leads a strong contingent of Haven harriers hunting for their first-ever conference championship, including classmates Joe Wiegner (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock) and Paul Hallman (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy), sophomores Billy Buckenmeyer (Alexander, N.Y./Alexander Central) and Jeremy Kunkel (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua Area), along with senior Rick Clendaniel (Warminster, Pa./William Tennant) and rookies Aaron Benson (Mt. Jewett, Pa./Kane Area), Ryan Blood (Summerdale, Pa./East Pennsboro) and Chris Robson (Lewisberry, Pa./Red Land).  All nine of the Bald Eagle runners have the ability to press for all-conference honors and have the experience to keep the competition tight.
 

           “We have the front runners, but it’s going to be how many we can stack between the front runners and the back,” said second-year head coach Aaron Russell.  “A key to this race is going to be where the non-Edinboro and Lock Haven people finish.”
             For the Lady Eagles, senior Jana Kauffman (Strasburg, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) and freshman Kat Davey ( Springfield , Pa. / Springfield ) are predicted to lead The Haven’s young team.  Kauffman, who red-shirted last year, was All-East Region and All-PSAC in 2001 and looks to do the same in her final season.  Davey has been one of the Lady Eagles’ top finishers throughout the year and is starting to settle into the 6K race.  Junior Jaime Decker ( Woodward , Pa. / Penns Valley ) is also a key ingredient to Lady Eagle success.  A top runner for The Haven, Decker has been plagued with injury over the past few weeks, but looks to be right with Kauffman and Davey.   
             The Lady Eagle contingency will also include sophomores Sarah Robertson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg Area) and Jodi White (Athens, Pa./Athens Area), both with one year’s experience, and rookies Deborah Kinsey (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville), LeighAnn Miller (St. Thomas, Pa./James Buchanan), Janet Quiles (Southfield, Mich./James L. Mann) and Heather Thomas (Catawissa, Pa./ Southern Columbia). 
             The Lady Eagles finished 12th out of 14 teams in last year’s competition, and hope to improve despite their youth again this season.  The favorites for this season’s women’s title are Edinboro University , ranked 6th in the nation, and Indiana ( Pa. ) University, ranked 15th nationally. 
            “Obviously we hope to improve, they’re just so young,” Russell said. “The real key is going to lie with how much our four and five runners close the gap.”
             Last season the Bald Eagles and Lady Eagles finished eighth and 12th, respectively, with Edinboro University winning both championship races. 

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