A leg up at the Jamboree Men's Cross Country
By Nora Wiltse
Staff Writer

Tomorrow the Albion cross country teams host the last of three championship meets. The women's race begins at 11 a.m., and the men will follow, at Whiffletree Hill Golf Course in Concord. This Jamboree is the deciding run for conference standings.

"We've got a pretty good shot at third or fourth going in," said Robert Ellerbruch, Negaunee senior. The Brits are now tied for fourth place in the conference with Alma. Kalamazoo is a close third.

There are seven men on Albion's team this year. "The small team actually helps, because everyone feels responsible," Ellerbruch said. "We all have a direct influence on what happens," agreed Kevin Brokaw, Traverse City freshman.

There are some drawbacks to a small team, however. Five runners are the minimum needed to participate in a conference run. Earlier this year, that was all the Brits had, as Brokaw and Brad Wright, Cadillac freshman, were out with injuries.

Tomorrow all seven runners will be ready. Injuries have healed and hopes are high. "Even though we might not get first or second, we have something to prove to ourselves," said Kirk Rosin, Frankenmuth sophomore and team captain. "It could be a real high point if we look at it from that sense."

"Hopefully a lot of people from the community can get down and watch us run," Brokaw said.

Eleven women race past wearing shirts that parody Dr. Seuss: Run mile repeats
Run them you will
Run them up
And down the hill
Run them in the rain
And in the snow
Run them, run them
It will show.

With a new coach and a young team, Albion women's cross country could "blow [the league] out of the water," hopes Cora Douglass, Clark Lake senior and co-captain of the team.

Six of the 11 runners are freshmen and only two members, Douglass and Mindi Ford, Hudson junior and co-captain, ran last year.

Such a young team takes time to develop, said Elaina Lake, Albion freshman. "Hopefully, by my senior year we'll be in the top three in the league."

This season, Coach Amy Wolfgang is stressing improvement rather than rank. "We need to be confident in the fact that we're running and we're improving," she said.

Wolfgang said with a young team it is important to focus on each runner and remain positive. The runners say Wolfgang does this very well.

"She helps us set goals we can achieve," Douglass said. "She has consistent confidence in us."

"[Wolfgang] is excellent in designing our workouts. She ran cross country, so she knows how we'll feel at every part of the race," Douglass said.

Albion's competition in a league with Calvin and Hope...nationally-ranked teams - depends on strong coaching.

Wolfgang's work-outs allow the runners to push each other, and run as a team.

"The girls are more interested in forming a team than they have been in the past," Douglass said. "The morale is much higher."