Mansfield cross country ready to prove everyone wrong
Mansfield cross country coach Mike Rohl knows that no one in the PSAC expects a lot from his teams this year.
He knows the preseason poll has his women picked eighth out of 16 teams. He has seen how his men are only projected to be 11th in the league.
He knows he has a young men's team with only two seniors on the roster and he knows that with Brenae Edwards sitting out this cross country season his women are without their best runner.
He also knows that when he's told that something can't be done, it only makes him work that much harder to prove them wrong.
"That's just my character," he said. "I'm like that about everything. When you tell me I can't do something, I'm going to show you 10 ways I can."
So far this year Rohl likes the way his runners have looked coming into the season.
"I'm pretty pleased," he said. "No one has showed up out of shape and no one has come in over-working themselves either. For the most part, our runners did a good job of conditioning during the summer and I'm pleased with that."
While outsiders look at his women's squad and see a team that has no Edwards this year and lost Clarissa Cummings to graduation, Rohl sees a team with the potential to be very good.
"It is exciting this year," Rohl said. "I knew what I had to do was have last year's class with Becky (Kratz) and Kait (Chegwidden) and add two or three runners that are at that level or a bit better.
"Having Brenae not out there I knew I had Kait and Becky back to be leaders and I had to go out and get a couple of other runners and that's what we got with Jess and Kristy."
The Mountaineers added a set of twins in Jess and Kristy Scordino from Owego and in the first time trial of the year they finished 1-2 for the quad.
While Rohl knows that the freshmen will definitely help his squad he also knows that depth will be important this year since the team doesn't have a guaranteed top of the meet finisher like Edwards.
"Definitely that security blanket is gone," Rohl said. "Everyone has to step up this year. The sixth runner on the team is going to be pretty important this year. Everyone needs to run well."
One of the people that will be fighting for that sixth spot on the team is sophomore Bethany Wigfield, and she knows how important it is for her to run well this year.
"I wasn't able to run last year and I feel a lot of pressure to go out and help the team out this year," she said. "We have a lot of new runners this year. I'm very excited to see how the season goes."
One of the benefits for the Mountaineers is that the top seven runners on the team are all freshmen and sophomores, so when Edwards returns next year it will give Mansfield a chance at having a very special team.
"One or two points in a cross country score is what every coach likes," Rohl said. "We know when we have Brenae back this could be a very special team."
On the men's side the Mountaineers return Bud Plaszenski, who was a national qualifier during track and field as a freshman last year.
"Bud Plaszenski got the job done over the summer after a great track season last year," Rohl said. "Sean (Vollenweider) had a good summer and is a senior and he will be counted on for his leadership."
While Rohl expected Plaszenski and Vollenweider to be among the leaders this year, he has also been impressed with freshman Wes Winter, of Southern Columbia High School.
"We have a young boy, Wes Winter, who really has looked good. He was only 15 seconds behind Bud on the hill at Colton Point. Wes has really stepped up and I think he can really fill a big role for us this year."
By the time the Mountaineers get late in the season Rohl expects his men to be right back where they normally are.
"I think people will figure out we are pretty good again," he said.
In the first time trial of the year Canton's Brady Finogle and Mansfield High School's Olivia Shedden were the NTL runners who ran for the Mountaineers.
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