Gold Rush: Women's Cross Country Captures ACC Crown
11/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Nov. 25, 2002
By Sam Walker
When Coach Annie Bennett saw the Atlanta, Ga., course on which her Wake Forest women's cross country team would compete for the ACC title, she became wary. The course had slopes, dips and inclines, places where runners would not be on flat ground. It also reminded her of a course from her past where she had had a bad experience.
But by the end of the ACC championship, her team had made history. For the first time in the 24-year history of the women's cross country program the Deacons won the ACC title, splitting the honors with NC State.
"I turned to the team right away and said I don't care if you like the course or not, this is where we've come to run, this is what we have to do," Bennett said. "Get your likes and dislikes out of it and get your mind on it and let's get our job done. The course was at an angle, there were some dips, and there were some falls during the women's race. It wasn't that the course was bad, but it just reminded me of a situation that was ugly from my history. The girls didn't know about my past. But it kind of threw me off the first five minutes."
Bennett's comments weren't taken lightly. On Nov. 2, her team came ready to run but didn't finish strongly without some overcoming some obstacles. After it was all over, team members expressed thanks to their coach for sternly focusing their attentions to just how difficult the course would be. The course was demanding, but the two Deacons who did fall got back up and back into the race.
"From the get-go, you could see that N.C. State had a strategy similar to ours," Bennett said. "We didn't go right to the front like a lot of other teams. We were a little more conservative. We had an uphill start to a downhill, and on that downhill we lost one of our runners. She got back up, but then we had a fall 1,000 meters later. It takes a lot of character to get back up and get your mind back on it. One was Danielle (Coon), who ended up finishing 22nd, and the other was Erin Franklin. For a freshman to fall in your first conference meet, it's a big deal to get back up and finish as strongly as she did." Franklin finished 26th.
Leading the charge was sophomore Anne Bersagel. She was fourth out of 67 runners and the top finisher for the Demon Deacons with a time of 20:50.6. Bennett expected a top-flight performance from Bersagel.
"We had a goal of a top-five finish for Anne, and she finished fourth," Bennett said. "Anne is very solid emotionally and is a very good person to coach. She listens well and she had input into it. We pretty much had a goal as to where we wanted everybody to finish. Anna Sherman coming through for us was big because it changed the score some. We knew N.C. State wouldn't roll over and die. We knew there wasn't much more we could do except run solidly and as well as we did at prenationals."
Risa Rutland placed eighth with a 21:23.4, with redshirt freshman Jill Miller 15th with a time of 21:42.2. Danielle Coon was 22nd (22.05.4), and Nikeya Green placed 31st (22:21.6).
Despite being a young team, the Demon Deacons ran a mature championship. It was a much-improved performance from a year ago when nothing seemed to click for the team. Bennett credited the individual and team character as a key component of the victory.
"Our young ladies are very focused, and I was trying to figure out what has made us have such a good year," Bennett said. "It comes down to their character. Last year we had a disappointing season, and most of these girls were part of that season. I challenged them to step it up. There were just some team dynamics that weren't working. Last year we were so young, and that's why we had some of those dynamics. But the maturity level has risen. So it's really about character that they stepped it up, put aside some issues and really feel 100 percent like a team."
Wake Forest will compete for the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship in Greenville, S.C., on Nov. 16. And with an ACC title under their belts the Deacons can confidently pursue loftier goals. Bennett thinks her team is peaking at the right time because she sees her team is confident. As for the program, Bennett hopes this ACC title can be proudly celebrated not only by this year's team but also by all the previous Wake Forest runners who went after the ACC title.
"I feel honored to be the first coach to win one here because of the history at Wake Forest," Bennett said. "I know the history of the young ladies that have come before us. They worked hard for this goal. This is a Wake Forest goal, and I can't be any prouder, especially in a year like this where we have five teams ranked in the top 20 from the conference. It really shows the level of character and commitment our athletes have made."
Players Mentioned
