Trinity Cross Country Season Preview/Recap

The 2009 Tiger cross country team, led by head coach Jenny Breuer, opens its campaign Sept. 1 by hosting the Trinity/UTSA Relay Meet at San Antonio's Olmos Basin fields at 6:30 a.m.

Coach Breuer has high expectations for the Tigers, who have experienced great success in the past few years.

"One class of runners leads the next," said coach Breuer. "We've started to see the athletes develop in the program. If one or two runners set the standards, the rest follow. It's really about leadership."

The  Tigers, who now have assistant coach Erica Clausen on the staff, have a demanding schedule which includes the Texas Little State Championships (Sept. 26) at Seguin, Texas; the Chile Pepper Invitational (Oct. 17) at Fayetteville, Ark.; and the SCAC Championships (Oct. 31) at Conyers, Ga.

A major goal is to return to the NCAA Division III Championships, to be held Nov. 21 in Cleveland.

The unranked Tiger women's team had their best-ever performance at the 2008 NCAA Championships. Trinity shot ahead to the No. 6 slot with 317 points at the NCAA meet held in at Hanover, Ind. Trinity had finished No. 21 at the 2007 NCAAs at Northfield, Minn.

Emily Loeffler, who has graduated, earned All-America honors, placing No. 17 of 279 runners in the 6k race. Loeffler ran the course in 21 minutes, 31.04 seconds. She earned the distinction of becoming Trinity's first-ever cross country All-American, male or female.

The versatile Loeffler placed fifth in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field 5,000 meters (17:09). She later became a four-time All-American, placing eighth in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:45.45).

Loeffler shattered the SCAC women's 3,000-meter steeplechase record, with a time of 10:44.91. She also won the 5,000 meters (17:47.53).

Ms. Loeffler is now the Trinity athletics Coordinator of Marketing and Promotions.  She was the recipient of the NCAA Ethnic Minority Scholarship for Careers in Athletics.

Graduate D'Ann Arthur placed No. 51 (22:02.69) at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, and Liz Eder was 63^rd, at 22:08.32. Eder and Arthur, competed in the NCAA Track and Field 10,000 meters event. Eder placed 13^th, with a time of 37:37.16. Arthur  finished at No. 15, clocking in at 38:10.35. Arthur was awarded a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

The NCAA Cross Country Regional, held at nearby Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, , turned out to be an important event for both Tiger teams.

Trinity's women won the regional crown with 43 points, leading runner-up Emory University, with 55.

Loeffler was runner-up at the regional meet (22:27) and Eder finished third (22:27). Arthur placed seventh (22:39).

Coach Breuer was named the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association South/Southeast Region Women's Coach of the Year.

The SCAC Championships were held in Memphis, Tenn., with Rhodes College serving as the host institution. Trinity's women were runners-up, just four points behind DePauw University. Loeffler finished third with a time of 21:43 and Eder was fifth (22:13)  in the 6k.

Trinity also won the Texas DIII Championships for the third year in a row. The Tigers registered a score of 16, one shy of a perfect 15.

In spite of the loss of three top runners to graduation, the Tiger women should still be in the hunt.

"We will still be a top-three regional team,' coach Breuer said. "We have a solid group of returnees."

The returning runners competed in the NCAA, Regional and SCAC meets.'

Junior Caitlin Masse of Katy, Texas (Cinco Ranch), picked up All-Region honors with a 13^th-place finish (23:11). Masse became an All-SCAC runner, finishing at No. 9 (22:47).

Krissy Ford, a junior from Jackson, Miss. (St. Andrew's Episcopal), was 18^th (23:38) at regionals and 11^th (22:56) at the SCAC meet.

A returning senior is Claire Parnell of Dallas (Highland Park).

Prior to the Tiger men's seventh-place regional finish, Trinity placed fifth at the SCAC meet. The Tigers were also runners-up at the Texas DIII Championships, for the third straight year.

And no top runners have graduated.

Senior Bryant Wright of Tulsa, Okla. (Holland Hall), the Tigers' men's NCAA individual qualifier, finished No. 71 of 278 runners in the 8k race. Wright clocked in at 25:22.75.

Wright earned his NCAA qualifying mark - and All-Region recognition - registering a time of 25:42 and a sixth-place finish. Also making the All-Region Team were senior Chass Armstrong of Boerne, Texas (Boerne), 31^st place, 26:58; and junior Zach Brush of Edmond, Okla. (Edmond North), 32^nd place, 26:59.

Both Wright and Armstrong were All-SCAC competitors. Wright placed third (25:56) and Armstrong was fourth (26:01).

Armstrong established a SCAC record in the track and field 1,500 meters, at 3:55.46. During the season, Armstrong turned in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 3:54.45.

Brush, an NCAA track and field All-American in 2008, earned an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 1:51.91 in this year's SCAC 800 meters. 

Two returning seniors are from Austin, Texas - Colby Bishop (Westlake) and Mike Warner (Austin High).

"This will be the strongest men's team we've had in a long time," coach Breuer said. "We have a solid group of seniors. The more seasons you have under your belt, the stronger you become."

The Tiger women's cross country team had the most successful season in school history in 2008

The women's team celebrates its regional championship

All-American Emily Loeffler led the Tiger women to a sixth-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Championships

Senior Bryant Wright running at the NCAA Regionals last year, finishing sixth individually

The women's team will be looking to qualify for nationals for the fourth straight year in 2009

Wright looks to improve the standing of the men's team with one of the "strongest teams we've had in a long time," according to Coach Jenny Breuer

The 2008 NCAA qualifiers - the Tiger women's team and Bryant Wright from the men's team