2015 Outlook: Larger rosters add depth to teams

When you take a look at the 2015 Olivet College men's and women's cross country rosters, you will notice the size of the roster. The men's team features 12 runners, while the women's team features 13 runners. Neither team has had rosters of this size in several years.

The men's team features five returning letterwinners in seniors Tyler Britten and Nicholas Roberge-Ferris, juniors Connor Bauserman and Blake Wilson, and sophomore Bruce Baker. Each ran their season-best time at their last race of the 2014 season. Roberge-Ferris had the top time of the five at 26:33.2 on the 8K course.

The women's team welcomes back six runners from the 2014 team. They are seniors Danielle Marsh and Courtney Reed, juniors Alissa Iloncai and Allyson Schultz, and sophomores Shayla Neelis and Kaitlin Stults. Schultz ran only two meets last year, the MIAA Championships and NCAA Regional, and had the team's second-best time in both events. Her best time was 24:58.9 on the 6K regional course.

The rest of the runners on both teams will add depth. In the sport of cross country, in most races, you are allowed to enter as many runners as you want in a race, and the finish for top five runners are added up for a team score. The lower the team's score is, the better your placement in the team standings will be.

Olivet will host two meets this fall. On Sept. 1, the Comets welcome Albion College and Saint Mary's (Ind.) College for a season-opening meet at the Turkeyville Farm in Marshall. On Oct. 31, Olivet hosts the MIAA Cross Country Championships at the Broadway Acres Golf Course in Charlotte.