Cross Country and Soccer Preseason Preview
By Jonathan Goldberg '00
It will be hard to match the season that the girl's Cross Country team had last year. Winning the Inter-Ac Championship, and finishing an outstanding 2nd in the Pennsylvania State Meet complemented their 8-4 record. The girls had just twelve runners last season, and still managed to do that well. Unfortunately, eight of those twelve runners will not be returning this fall. This year's returning seniors will be Rebecca Osborn and Lindsey Sukay, the team's top runner last season. The additions of Liz Grau, Carolyn Chang, Steph Will, and Anita Dhand to the team will add more experience and talent. Although last year's team exceeded many people's expectations, Coach Krouse believes that this team will improve on last year's achievements through hard work and the proper dedication.

Boys Cross Country has a bright future to look towards, with so many under-classman-runners. Last year, finishing 4th in the Championships set up the victory against Penn Charter in their last meet of the season. Their winning record of 6-4 showed us that hard work does pay off in the end. For this team to continue their success, the need good production from the freshmen and sophomores, and strong leadership from the juniors and seniors. Many of the team members have been running throughout the summer in order to keep in shape, and improve on last year's times.

For the last five seasons, the girl's Soccer team has gone undefeated in the Inter-Ac. Last season they finished first in an early tournament, and then went on through the season dominating their opponents. The finale was the win over Penn Charter, finishing their season with a 15-3-4 record. Losing eight seniors including high school All-American Julie Shaner and star goal keeper Danielle Ruppel really hurts a team. However, the team may very well continue their winning ways with some new additions to the team. Don't be surprised if these girls make it six straight undefeated league seasons.

Boys soccer finished last year's season with a satisfying tie against Penn Charter. Although the boys finished with a 0-8-2 record in the Inter-Ac, the games were all hard-fought and often decided by one goal. Fortunately, only five players will not be returning, so they still have a strong nucleus to build on. This team has always had somewhat of a problem with injuries. However, Coach David believes that if the team is physically ready, then the boys could finish with a .500 record or better in the Inter-Ac. He's optimistic about some of the new recruits in the freshmen and sophomore grades. Patience and defense are going to be the keys to winning games for the upcoming year. Captains Raime Bateman and Jon Reusch along with assistant coach Pat Gray, helped organize some unofficial practices before preseason so that they could be ready for the first game on Friday August 29th. Watch out for the upset victory at Penn Charter on PC Day.