University Southern California Trojans
USC Cross Country Team Mixes Youth With Experience
September 07, 2010 | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 7, 2010
The 2010-2011 cross country team will feature a very good mix of senior leadership and young talent that should propel the Trojans to one of the program's top seasons.
Senior co-captain Zsofia Erdelyi is USC's top runner and is joined by fellow seniors Christine Cortez and co-captain Zara Lukens as key leaders on the squad.
"I'm really looking forward to this year," 17th-year cross country coach Tom Walsh said. "And I'm very excited to see what Zsofia can do in her final year. Prior to last cross country season she had a very long track season that ran through August. She ran into some health problems which set her back, and it seemed like we were playing catch-up all year long. She's really looking forward to getting back to the NCAA Championships which she did as a sophomore, and I feel she has an excellent chance at doing that."
Walsh welcomes redshirt sophomore Shelby Buckley as a key member of the squad. Forced to sit out the 2009 season after transferring from UCLA, Walsh sees Buckley as an important runner on the squad if she can shake off a recent spat of injuries.
"She's been slowed by some injuries, but we are looking to her as someone who can really contribute in the second half of the season and are going to be very careful to bring her along slowly," Walsh said. "Shelby has tremendous range from the 800m all the way up to the 6K."
Lukens and senior Dina Kitayama made great strides during the track season last year in the 10K race and have used a strong summer training regiment to prepare well for this season.
"Dina has only been running competitively for 10 months and has already made a huge leap from last cross country season to the track season and to now," Walsh said.
Cortez is only in her second season at Troy but is poised for a solid year as a senior and can run anywhere from the 800m up to the 6K. Anniya Louis comes back from her year layoff due to a chronic hip injury which required surgery. The redshirt sophomore is looking forward to getting back into running and becoming a vital part of the squad.
Kathleen Moloney, coming off an outstanding freshman year, looks to make another jump in her results as a sophomore. "I'm really excited to see her run this season," Walsh said. "She has really progressed and learned a lot her freshman year. She has improved more than anyone on the team compared to her high school times."
Sophomore Jessica Lundin returns after redshirting the cross country season last year. She came up huge for the track team last season after getting healthy by coming in second in the steeplechase at the USC-UCLA Dual Meet to help USC sweep the event and the meet.
Leah Gaeta has the ability to have a consistent junior season and Walsh has her focused to come on strong at the end of the season.
Sophomore Theresa Kurth comes off a solid track season in which she placed third in the steeplechase at the USC-UCLA Dual Meet. Like Lundin, Walsh looks for Kurth to build off her success with the track team.
Kelly Owen comes off a freshman year where she improved from her high school times. Her track season was slowed by minor injuries and a bout with mononucleosis, but she's eager to get back to her old form and should provide the team with key depth.
Sophomore Christy Ambrosini has a lot of potential in cross country and track, but was slowed down by a chronic condition last season. Even in her limited action, she showed what she is capable of doing when she was USC's top runner at the CS Fullerton Invitational, her first career race as a Trojan. Meanwhile, senior Allison Rojewski set a PR in her final cross country race last season and is excited to run this season and improve on her times from last year.
USC's four incoming freshmen add depth to the team this season. Jaclyn Walles is a talented runner from the L.A City Section. She is a solid middle distance runner that can help us in cross country and longer distances in track. Katie DeYoung is the sister of current Trojan track athlete Scott DeYoung. She had an excellent senior cross country season at J. Serra High. Tara Blanchard and Francesca Adamski are both 800m runners and they will be using the cross country season to improve their endurance in track.
"I'm looking forward to how the pieces to the puzzle of this team come together," Walsh said. "We have a good mix of seniors and juniors who provide leadership and freshmen and sophomores who are enthusiastic and motivated. Our goal is to improve from week to week and run the best race of the season at the Pac-10 Championships.
"I'm looking for Zsofia to really step it up and improve off her form of two years ago when she made the NCAA Championships. Her international experience and hard work ethic should pave the way for her returning to the NCAA Championships again. Shelby Buckley is the X-factor and if we can get her healthy and training consistently, she will be a big surprise."
