Manchester University Coach Excited About XC Season
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Mark Adkins-
NORTH MANCHESTER – Coach Brian Cashdollar likes what he sees on the horizon. A quick glance at this year’s Manchester University men’s and women’s cross country teams, and it would be easy to see why. Despite losing one of the most successful senior classes in men’s program history, the Spartans return a strong and talented underclassman core to try and extend the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship streak. On the women’s side, a veteran squad reports to the North Manchester campus this fall looking to regain their league title status of 2012. “(The excitement) comes for me in the idea of knowing that several runners on both sides have opportunities in front of them,” Cashdollar said. “I know we lost a deep senior class for the men’s team, but I feel the younger runners returning and a freshman class that has a lot of potential will make for a good combination … they’ll be hungry to keep our recent run of success going. The women’s team is in the same situation as last year’s men’s squad with many returners who have experienced good results. They want to (get the program back) to where it has been in regards to the conference. I’m excited and nervous to see what can be accomplished.” The men’s team, with a string of five straight HCAC championships in tow, looks to the likes of senior Corey Birchmeier (Dexter, Ill.), junior Jacob Sweet (Hicksville, Ohio) and sophomores Blake Harris (Fort Wayne), Alex Gudeman (Rochester) and Connor Bresnahan (Portage, Mich.) to bear leadership roles this season. The quintet has competed on the top levels, too, as each of them were part of last year’s third-place NCAA Division III Great Lakes regional and top 30 national meet team finishes. “These guys have been through the fight for spots in the varsity lineup since they’ve been (on campus),” Cashdollar said. “Corey has just been outside the top five or six in each of the last three seasons, and he knows this is his chance to be a leader, while Jacob was within the top 10 most of last season. Alex returns after a very successful first year which included being named the conference’s Freshman of the Year in cross country. I know he’ll want to continue improving and taking a step to the next level. He’ll be a leader for the sophomore class which I think has the ability to be a lot like the class of 2014 with guys like Blake, Connor and others ready to step up. “It’ll be interesting to see the competition in preseason camp,” he added. “I know it will make us better as we prepare for an always-tough schedule, and I feel we’ll be moving the lineup around each week. The HCAC looks fairly even this year with several top-flight individuals having graduated but some strong core groups returning to schools.” The women’s program is rife with returning experience. Seniors Brianna Martinez (Schererville) and Rachel Weeber (Goshen) each earned all-conference accolades a year ago, with Martinez picking up her second, while sophomore Mariah Jordan (Fort Wayne) helped the Spartans sweep the Freshmen of the Year honors and was also an all-region awardee. “I know last year was tough (for the women),” Cashdollar said. “We had battled with Hanover all season and went right down to the wire with them to get the conference title, but they just edged us. It will make the returners hungry to work harder and get that top spot back. “The biggest key for this team will be the experience the veterans received a year ago of being in leadership roles,” he added. “Some of them hadn’t been through that. However, now they understand. I feel they will mesh well with a deep underclass group.” Manchester’s head coach also pointed out that competition for top five to 10 slots in the preseason, much like the men will see, could further drive the Black and Gold. “With how well the sophomores, including Mariah, Ruth Ritchey Moore (of Bryan, Ohio) and Tiffany Harber (of Columbia City), did in both cross country and track and field along with the upperclasswomen including Martinez, Weeber, senior Sarah Stahl (of Montpelier, Ohio) and junior Kara Smith (Kewanna) doing the same, all starting spots will be a battle,” he said. “We’ll need that depth and balance with the conference looking strong this fall.” Manchester University opens its 2014 slate hosting its annual Hokum Karem on Aug. 29.
