file photo/Arizona Daily Wildcat

The UA menās cross country team runs through the rain last October during practice. This yearās menās Wildcat team returns seven of nine runners from last year and coach Dave Murray said both teams are as deep and talented as any he has coached.

Wednesday September 26, 2001

UA cross country set to start this weekend

The UA men's and women's cross country teams will begin their season this weekend in the Midwest, and the weather should be a little more pleasant than the last time they visited.

The Wildcats will travel to Minneapolis for Saturday's Roy Griak Invitational, and the fall weather should seem rather pleasant compared to the minus-20 degree weather they endured in Ames, Iowa, during last year's NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Both squads return with rosters filled with experienced runners, including seven of the top nine finishers on last year's men's team. UA head coach Dave Murray said he has his sights set higher this season, beginning with this weekend's tournament.

"This is one of the best meets in the country in terms of the number and quality of teams," Murray said. "We're looking forward to going there and competing on both the men's and women's side."

Leading Murray's men's squad are seniors Tom Prindiville and Mike Cramer, who were both team leaders last season.

Prindiville earned All-Pacific 10 Conference and All-West Region honors, finishing as the Wildcats' top runner at both meets. He also finished fifth at the Pacific 10 Conference Championships and third at the NCAA West Regional before slipping to 89th at the NCAA Championships.

While Prindiville looks to improve this season, he said his main focus is leading the Wildcats into the nation's elite this season.

"We finished 12th on paper last year (at the NCAA Championships), but we were running in 20 degrees below zero," Prindiville said. "We should definitely have finished better than that.

"We have a really strong team this year, we are a lot deeper than in years past. We have a solid group, and good leadership in Steve (Smith), (Mike) Cramer, and myself."

Four freshmen made key contributions for the Wildcats last season, and three of them return this year as sophomores with collegiate experience.

The men's team will also have several new faces on the roster this season. Freshman Jin Daikoku from Lowell High School in San Francisco was one of the highest-ranked prep runners last year.

Another newcomer expected to make an immediate impact is junior Kyle Goklish, who transferred from Central Arizona College in Coolidge.

He was the National Junior College Athletic Association runner-up last year and finished third in the 5,000m at the 2001 NJCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships while leading his team to a second-place finish overall. Also adding depth for the Wildcats this season will be sophomore Eric Bohn, a transfer from the Universty of Michigan.

Like the men's squad, the women's cross country team will bring one of the most experienced Wildcat squads ever to Minneapolis. Six of the top seven finishers from last year's NCAA Championships are returning along with senior transfer Abby Peters. Peters sat out the 2000 season due to NCAA transfer rules after coming to Arizona from Boise State in Boise, Idaho.

As a member of the Broncos' squad in 1999, Peters won the Big West Conference cross country championship and also claimed conference titles in the 3,000m and 10,000m during the 2000 track and field season. She then went on to earn All-America honors in both cross country and track and field at NCAA Championship events, notching a seventh-place finish in the 10,000m.

Her talents will be welcomed by a group of accomplished Wildcat runners. Tara Chaplin leads the way, looking to defend her 2000 Pac-10 title. Chaplin also took home first place in the Purdue Invitational last season, and will be looking to repeat as Roy Griak Invitational champion this weekend in Minneapolis.

After finishing third at both the Pacific-10 Conference Championships and the NCAA West Regionals last season, the Wildcats slipped to 19th at the NCAA Championships. With his core from last season returning and the addition of Peters, Murray feels that this year's squad has the potential for greatness.

"We certainly have a couple of superstars in Chaplin and Peters, but our strength is that five or six of our runners will be running very close at every meet," Murray said. "We are very experienced in terms of quality runners and senior leaders on both of our teams. In my 35 years as head coach, these are two of the most experienced and deepest teams that I have entered the season with."