BEREA, Ohio – A young Baldwin Wallace University women's cross country team will gain valuable experience in 2017 under third year Head Coach Joe Eby while looking to make greater strides in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
BW finished sixth in the 2016 OAC Championships and advanced five runners to the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships where the team placed 19th overall. The Yellow Jackets were selected to finish fifth in the conference in the 2017 OAC Preseason Poll.
Leadership will turn to senior Elizabeth Anielski (Walton Hills/Trinity), junior Hannah Fredriksen (Hamburg, N.Y.) and junior Mackenzie Moran (Carlisle, Pa.) to guide a roster laden with underclassmen.
Six sophomores return to the team this year as Hannah Allenson (Lakewood), Jordan Dascani (Toledo/Springfield), Katie Fowler (Mount Vernon), Claire Makowski (Bethel Park, Pa.), Hannah Nagy (Belmont/Linsly {W.Va.}) and Bella Pendola (Warsaw/River View) all look to improve on their top times from their freshmen campaigns.
Fredriksen, Makowski, Nagy and Pendola all competed in the Great Lakes Regional Championships a season ago and will bring that postseason experience to their races this year.
Rounding out the roster are 10 incoming freshmen. Katlyn Burns (Logan), Lizzy Gilreath (Mentor), Madison Kile (North Canton/Hoover), Ellie Kohler (Telford, Pa./Souderton Area), Hastings Marek (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial), Molina Otte (Omaha, Neb./Millard West), Rebecca Penrose (Springfield/Shawnee), Jordan Sherwin (Westlake), Viola Sullivan (Marietta) and Megan Vaughn (Amherst/Firelands) will look to make immediate strides under the guidance of the upperclassmen.
The Yellow Jackets open the 2017 season on Friday, September 1, when they travel to Wooster to compete in the annual College of Wooster Invitational. Cedarville University will host the All-Ohio Division III Championships on Friday, September 29, while Heidelberg University will host the OAC Championships on Saturday, October 28.
