Gold Rush: Youthful Women's Track Team
4/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
April 16, 2003
By Sam Walker
The Wake Forest women's track and field team brings a rather youthful, but talented team to the 2003 outdoor season. The team is led by two-time All-American Nikeya Green and All-American Anne Bersagel with a host of All-ACC performers bolstering the roster. And while a team championship will not be a primary goal of coach Annie Bennett and her staff, success will be sought after through champions and NCAA qualifiers.
"It's real tough for us to get higher that sixth or seventh outdoors because there are a lot of events that we don't necessarily cover. We're not there yet, and it's going to be hard for us just because of the cost of our university. We can't split up scholarships quite as easily as bigger universities, so the focus and our emphasis is that we're going after quality. Whatever we do, we want to do it right. All our coaches look at our events and see what we're good at. We recruit to our strengths and to our school's strengths. That fit is much more important at a small private institutions than it is at a large public university. At a large university, students can find their niches. But as a staff, I think we're pleased with where we're going." The Wake women's seem to be going in the right direction despite being a rather young group of athletes. The team will no doubt be led by the consistency of Green and Bersagel, and the women are confident, riding the wave of confidence that came with winning the ACC cross country title in the fall.
"We do have a strong women's team, and it has helped with our success in cross country that has carried over," Bennett said. "A lot of our recruits have panned out, and we've been real pleased with that."
The Wake women finished the WFU Invitational in second place overall with some strong performances shown in a variety of events. The event was completed on March 22 at Kentner Stadium on the Wake Forest campus.
Freshman Lindsey Neuberger broke Wake Forest records in both shot put and hammer throw. Teammate Jennifer Leesman was the runner-up in the shot put. Cassie Richards won the 100 and 200-meter runs as well as the long jump. Shauna Danos won the 800 meter run and Green captured first in the 1,500 meter run. Courtney Lancashire was second behind Green. Wake Forest runners Risa Rutland, Danielle Coon, and Denise Hefferin captured second, third and fourth places, respectively, in the 3,000-meter run. Jackie Muscente finished third in the 400-meter hurdles. The Deacons performed well in the early outdoor season meet, and Bennett and her staff expect improvement over the course of the outdoor season hoping that each athlete will peak at just the right time - the end of the season.
In the sprints and jumps, Bennett was glad to see Richards perform well at the WFU Invitational but thinks there are even greater things that lie ahead for her.
"Cassie Richards has yet to put it all together," Bennett said. "She has incredible intensity at the meet, but she doesn't bring that to her training. She's young, but we think it is time for her to step to the plate and make some better maturity decisions. The ball is in her court, and we're challenging her to take ownership of her performances. Talent will only take you so far, and we're expecting her to do something this year. She's very capable.
"We're excited to have sophomore Jackie Muscente back in the 400-meter hurdles. She scored last year and has worked real hard this fall. She has a lot of poise and character, and we're excited to see her back to running outside and the things she loves."
Jill Kovalcik, a fifth-year senior, is a heptathlete and multi-event athlete who had a very good indoor season. She was fourth in the conference a year ago in the heptathlon. "She's enjoying the process, and I can see she is enjoying her senior year and that's fun to watch," Bennett said.
Neuberger, while breaking school records, is really representative of the future of the throwing program at Wake Forest.
"Lindsay Neuberger was a blue chip recruit out of high school and was recruited very hard," Bennett said. "We feel fortunate to have landed her, but at the same time, she has really capitalized on her time at Wake Forest. She has improved a foot and one half indoors and was third in the ACC as a freshman and the ACC is a good throwing conference. But the thing about Lindsay is she brings a lot of personality to the team and a lot of enjoyment. She has intensity, but a good level head on her shoulders. We're going to build our throwing program around her."
Jennifer Leesman, a sophomore, has some things she is working on, according to Bennett. She called them bio-mechanic issues but seems to be incrementally improving. Bennett said she was real close to "busting out and hitting some," and her outing at the WFU Invitational shows she's making progress.
In the middle-distance and distance events the Deacons are strong. Senior Adralyn Wendel has improved tremendously after spending her first two years injured and sick. She had mononucleosis that lasted her entire freshman year but came on strong last year outdoors and has come back in the fall and been a vital person on the squad. "She scored in the ACC DMR, and scored at the ACC in the 800, which is tough event," Bennett said. "It's exciting to see her enjoying the process and scoring in events.
Nikeya Green is the veteran junior and has competed in the USA Indoor National meet three times now and competed in the finals this year for the second year in a row," Bennett said. "She owns the school record in the 800, and I can't say enough about Nikeya because she's very coachable. She listens well, communicates well and articulates what's going on very well. She's really been a pleasure to coach in the sense that she gives me trust and believes in what I'm doing so she says whatever. Then when she gets out there she just lets it happen. The truth is she's a beautiful runner, and we're very fortunate to have her because she is so gifted."
Ana Sherman, a junior transfer, is in her first year of competition at Wake Forest. She was an important component to the team's success in cross-country, according to Bennett. "Being somewhat inexperienced had really helped her because she just really lays it all on the line, and we'd have to peel her off the course at the end," Bennett said. "She was always in the top five. Now she really learning what it takes to be at the highest level at the Division I level, and she has tremendous potential. I'm very high on her. It's time to move the limitations out of the way that she can put on herself and to just let it happen."
The strictly distance runners will be led by Jill Miller and Anne Bersagel. Miller, a sophomore, is a tremendous racer and does not need a lot of instruction when it comes to racing. "She has competitive instincts but sometimes can be a little conservative, so I try to shake that out, but she's a natural competitor," Bennett said.
All-American sophomore Anne Bersagel is fearless, according to Bennett. "The great thing about her is that she loves to win and take risks. She's not scared to win and possesses a lot of qualities that are going to take her a long way in life. She's the full package of the studen-athlete."
Potential is the operative word for this year's women's team. Although inexperience may play into this season's scenario, the potential of the women is very high, which will help strengthen the growing track and field program this season and for seasons to come.