Cross Country practices underway

GREELEY – They run more in a week than most people drive and those miles started early this morning with time-trials for the Northern Colorado cross country teams.

The 2011 squads are under the direction of interim head coach Amanda Schick with the assistance of John Gutierrez – who knows a thing or two about running distances in Greeley as he grew up in the home town of the Bears.

The women's team will be a fairly young squad with eight freshmen on the roster to go along with three sophomores and three seniors. One of those seniors, Megan Horsch, will redshirt this fall after having an amazing junior campaign. Horsch led the pack this morning during trials and though she won't be on the course during competitions, will be looked upon for leadership.

"I'm very excited about this group," said Gutierrez about the women's team. "They have been working extremely hard all summer and they could be a force to be reckoned with once the conference championship rolls around. We have a long way to go, but this is going to be a tough team."

The men's team also has an extremely young roster with no juniors or seniors on the squad. There are four sophomores, with three who made up the bulk of the team in 2010, and four freshmen to join the distance corps.

"Though they're an extremely young team, I have no doubt they will come in and train hard every single day," said Gutierrez. "I see a lot of potential in this group and am looking forward to getting started."

The Bears open the 2011 season on Sept. 2 at the Wyoming Invitational, working towards the Big Sky Championship on Oct. 29 in Pocatello, Idaho hosted by Idaho State.