Temple University Athletics
Friday, August 30
Bethlehem, Pa.
Temple University
at
Lehigh Invitational
'][' Above All: Greatness is Underway for 2019 Women's Cross Country Team
8.29.19 | Women's Cross Country
PHILADELPHIA – A record-breaking 2018 season and a diligent commitment to off-season training demonstrates that the 2019 Temple women's cross country team is fully equipped to make its mark as one of the nation's top programs this season. Returning almost the entirety of its key runners from last fall and bringing in an impressive slate of freshmen and transfers, Temple is primed to secure its spot at the top of the American and continue to strive for greatness.
In his six years at Temple, head cross country coach James Snyder has led Temple's distance program to unprecedented success at the conference, regional and national level. Now in his seventh year leading the Owls, Snyder feels the strides of transformation the program has made over the years have prepared this year's squad to achieve its primary goal: a conference title.
"I think we have a really special opportunity to have one of the best seasons we've ever had in our program's history," said Snyder. "For the first time, I think we really have a shot of making the national meet. This has become more realistic over the years as the program has continued to improve and I'm excited to see what they can do. The bar is set high, and I think we are fully capable of achieving things we never have before."
The Owls showed a vast amount of improvement last year with record-breaking success during the championship portion of the season. In one of the tightest team battles of AAC history, the Owls fell just short of a conference title at the 2018 American Athletic Conference Championship with just four points separating them and the trophy. Two weeks later at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, the squad ran their hearts out on their hunt for redemption and saw their most complete team race of the season. Despite crushing their regional ranking and earning their highest finish in program history, the Owls fell one spot short of the national meet after finishing fourth overall.
While being so close to achieving their goals was disappointing, the Owls have used these experiences as growth and motivation to come back even stronger this year. From the record-breaking 2018 group, Temple returns eight student-athletes to lead the group with maturity and adds six diversely talented newcomers to lift the team to new heights. Only graduating two student-athletes that were scoring members of the team since last season (Kira von Ehren and Katie Leisher), the Owls return four of their top-five finishers from the 2018 AAC Championships.
The Cherry and White will continue to lean on these familiar faces that earned a vast amount of accolades last season, bringing Lucy Jones, Grace Moore, Millie Howard and Helene Gottlieb back to the course. They landed a program-high three student-athletes on the AAC All-Conference team with Jones, Joyce and Gottlieb all earning the honors, and placed two on the All-Region team in Moore and von Ehren. The Cherry and White wrapped up their 2018 season in stellar fashion, capturing the program's first-ever ECAC Championship title. The victory was led by Moore, who won the individual title for the first time in program history.
Adding to its talented core, Temple has brought in three true freshmen and three illustrious transfers to raise the bar even higher for the coming season. Maya Kalach, Laura Nicholson and Cat Shontz will make up this year's freshman class, and Mikaela Vlasic, Erinn Stenman-Fahey and Alanna Lally come to Temple with many years of experience under their belts.
"Erinn comes in as a graduate student from Iowa State and has come here to help take us to the next level," said Snyder. "Laura comes from Ireland with various national titles and better credentials over 3000m than anyone we've ever had out of high school. Cat Shontz is one of the fastest American girls we have ever signed. I know this is the most talented group that we have ever had on one roster, but how good we can be is ultimately going to be determined by the work we put in and the belief we have in one another as we get towards the meets that matter most."
With the new and improved roster, the Owls also have a fresh race schedule that allows them to face a contingent of nationally relevant teams over the course of the season. Temple will kick off the 2019 season at the Lehigh Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa. Following the season-opener, the squad has a strategic schedule geared towards the post season.
In week two, the Owls will head to New York for the Iona Meet of Champions. A week later, they are set to compete at the Ohio State Inter-Regional before a three week hiatus until the Penn State National Invitational. The four regular-season meets are set to prepare Temple for the American Athletic Conference Championships, dated for Nov. 1, 2019. Two weeks later, the Owls will return to Bethlehem, Pa. for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional.
"The three meets we have leading up to the Conference Championships will allow us to face teams that perennially make the national meet. We will have the opportunity to see how we match up against some quality competitors, which will be pivotal to our success in the post season."
Heading into its opening meet tomorrow, the Temple women's cross country team has adopted a new motto to lead them through the challenges of the upcoming season and remind them of what it means to be great: "T Above All".
"T Above All—Temple above everything else," said Snyder. "What we do for our school, what we do for our program, how we represent ourselves. Temple always comes first, and the team always comes first. Putting the team in front of the individual and looking out for one another will be key to our success this season, and I can't wait to see how this team embodies this this season."
The Owls will debut the 2019 season on Friday, Aug. 30 at the Lehigh Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa. The ladies are slated to toe the line at 6:15 p.m.
In his six years at Temple, head cross country coach James Snyder has led Temple's distance program to unprecedented success at the conference, regional and national level. Now in his seventh year leading the Owls, Snyder feels the strides of transformation the program has made over the years have prepared this year's squad to achieve its primary goal: a conference title.
"I think we have a really special opportunity to have one of the best seasons we've ever had in our program's history," said Snyder. "For the first time, I think we really have a shot of making the national meet. This has become more realistic over the years as the program has continued to improve and I'm excited to see what they can do. The bar is set high, and I think we are fully capable of achieving things we never have before."
The Owls showed a vast amount of improvement last year with record-breaking success during the championship portion of the season. In one of the tightest team battles of AAC history, the Owls fell just short of a conference title at the 2018 American Athletic Conference Championship with just four points separating them and the trophy. Two weeks later at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, the squad ran their hearts out on their hunt for redemption and saw their most complete team race of the season. Despite crushing their regional ranking and earning their highest finish in program history, the Owls fell one spot short of the national meet after finishing fourth overall.
While being so close to achieving their goals was disappointing, the Owls have used these experiences as growth and motivation to come back even stronger this year. From the record-breaking 2018 group, Temple returns eight student-athletes to lead the group with maturity and adds six diversely talented newcomers to lift the team to new heights. Only graduating two student-athletes that were scoring members of the team since last season (Kira von Ehren and Katie Leisher), the Owls return four of their top-five finishers from the 2018 AAC Championships.
The Cherry and White will continue to lean on these familiar faces that earned a vast amount of accolades last season, bringing Lucy Jones, Grace Moore, Millie Howard and Helene Gottlieb back to the course. They landed a program-high three student-athletes on the AAC All-Conference team with Jones, Joyce and Gottlieb all earning the honors, and placed two on the All-Region team in Moore and von Ehren. The Cherry and White wrapped up their 2018 season in stellar fashion, capturing the program's first-ever ECAC Championship title. The victory was led by Moore, who won the individual title for the first time in program history.
Adding to its talented core, Temple has brought in three true freshmen and three illustrious transfers to raise the bar even higher for the coming season. Maya Kalach, Laura Nicholson and Cat Shontz will make up this year's freshman class, and Mikaela Vlasic, Erinn Stenman-Fahey and Alanna Lally come to Temple with many years of experience under their belts.
"Erinn comes in as a graduate student from Iowa State and has come here to help take us to the next level," said Snyder. "Laura comes from Ireland with various national titles and better credentials over 3000m than anyone we've ever had out of high school. Cat Shontz is one of the fastest American girls we have ever signed. I know this is the most talented group that we have ever had on one roster, but how good we can be is ultimately going to be determined by the work we put in and the belief we have in one another as we get towards the meets that matter most."
With the new and improved roster, the Owls also have a fresh race schedule that allows them to face a contingent of nationally relevant teams over the course of the season. Temple will kick off the 2019 season at the Lehigh Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa. Following the season-opener, the squad has a strategic schedule geared towards the post season.
In week two, the Owls will head to New York for the Iona Meet of Champions. A week later, they are set to compete at the Ohio State Inter-Regional before a three week hiatus until the Penn State National Invitational. The four regular-season meets are set to prepare Temple for the American Athletic Conference Championships, dated for Nov. 1, 2019. Two weeks later, the Owls will return to Bethlehem, Pa. for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional.
"The three meets we have leading up to the Conference Championships will allow us to face teams that perennially make the national meet. We will have the opportunity to see how we match up against some quality competitors, which will be pivotal to our success in the post season."
Heading into its opening meet tomorrow, the Temple women's cross country team has adopted a new motto to lead them through the challenges of the upcoming season and remind them of what it means to be great: "T Above All".
"T Above All—Temple above everything else," said Snyder. "What we do for our school, what we do for our program, how we represent ourselves. Temple always comes first, and the team always comes first. Putting the team in front of the individual and looking out for one another will be key to our success this season, and I can't wait to see how this team embodies this this season."
The Owls will debut the 2019 season on Friday, Aug. 30 at the Lehigh Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa. The ladies are slated to toe the line at 6:15 p.m.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
800m
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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