POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (September 2, 2010) – Last season, junior Johanna Spangler won three of her first five races, finished second in one other and captured the ECAC Championships title. Naturally, it would be easy to surmise that Spangler will be hard to catch this season. While head coach James McCowan doesn't dispute such reasoning, he cautions that Spangler won't run solo throughout the 2010 campaign.

"Make no mistake about it: Johanna is an excellent runner, but she's not alone and doesn't have to do it all by herself for our team to have a great season,” McCowan explains. “The depth of our team is as much of an asset as our frontrunners. We have a lot of women who could place anywhere in our top 7 any given week."

Vassar College will be on display on September 4 at Noon when the Brewers hold their annual Invitational at the Farm. McCowan's program has won four straight Invitational meets.

Spangler burst onto the scene as a freshman and qualified for the NCAA Championships where she placed 92nd out of 273 runners. Last season, Spangler had winning performances at the Vassar Invitational, Stevens Invitational and Seven Sisters Championship and in between those meets placed second at the Hamilton Invitational and fifth at the Liberty League Championships. She bested a field of 275 runners to capture the ECAC Championships one year removed from finishing second. She finished 21st in the NCAA Atlantic Region meet.

“Going into this season, Johanna has the intent to qualify for the NCAA Championships,” says McCowan.
“The good thing for Johanna is we have a talented team and they'll be pushing her both in practice and meets.”

Vassar's top seven runners have the aptitude to make the Brewers a formidable team this season, one that McCowan feels is capable of being a top five regional finisher.

Senior Zoe Carpenter was one of the most consistent runners on the team last season, finishing in the top 10 in five straight races, including a tenth place finish at the Liberty League Championships and a 6th place finish at Seven Sisters. She earned Second-Team All-Liberty League honors last season.

A pair of stalwarts from last year's track season, junior Elizabeth Forbes and sophomore Kelly Holmes figure to be among Vassar's top three runners throughout the season. Forbes, who did not compete in the 2009 cross country season, holds track school records in the 1,500 meters and 10k. “She has a lot of talent, ability and work ethic,” says McCowan.” Having her return this season is a huge asset to the team.”

Holmes, a track school record holder in the 800 meters, enters her sophomore season with a “boost of confidence” following a strong freshman campaign. Holmes was the Liberty League Rookie of the Week five times last season.

There could be a real bottleneck to determine what runners can fill the all-important four through seven spots. McCowan believes no less than five runners will vie for scoring honors. “We finally have depth as a team and that means we can support each other. Everyone is capable.”

Depth abounds on the 2010 roster and multiple runners have the ability to score points for the Brewers. Senior Brittany Davis is coming off a strong track season in the Steeplechase and had a 5th place finish at the Stevens Invite. Sophomore Samantha Creath started the 2009 season in fine fashion with three top ten performances before being sidelined by injury. After struggling in the beginning of the season, sophomore Hannah Ziobrowski came on strong in the last third third of the season. Consistency was the name of the game for three other runners last season: Juniors Rebecca Valencia, Melissa McClung and sophomore Kristine Olson.

A key scheduling change for the Brewers this season is a later date for the Liberty League Championships. Previously the meet has been held in the fourth week of the season. This season, the championships have been pushed back to the sixth week, and will be run at Hobart College. “Our goal every year is to close in at the Liberty League Championships,” says McCowan. “Last year we finished third and we'd like to improve upon that this year. It would move us up in the region.”

The Brewers compete in arguably the toughest region in Division III, and the strength of the Atlantic Region will undoubtedly test the team this season. “The region isn't getting any softer, and that's not a bad thing,” McCowan explains. Last year Vassar finished 12th out of 33 teams.