Aug. 22, 2006

Detroit, Mich. - The Wayne State women's cross country team completed the 2005 season with eight top-10 finishes in nine races, finished second in two races (Detroit Invitational and Cross Country Only Nationals), and return the top three runners of last season. So what will 2006 bring for head coach Rick Cummins?

The 2006 team returns senior Jenni Culbertson (Clinton Twp., Mich./Dakota), who was named to the Academic All-District IV Track/Cross Country First Team as well as the Second Team All-GLIAC after finishing 11th at the GLIAC Championships. She was the top runner for the Warriors in three races last season. 2005 saw her break two personal marks in a fourth place finish at the Detroit Mercy 5k in 18:46 (her best time in her career at that race) and a sixth place finish at the Midwest Collegiate 5k, her best career finish at Wisconsin-Parkside.

Helping Culbertson and leading the underclassmen are seniors Sarah Kearfott (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson), whose best finish in 2005 was 29th at the Cross Country Only Nationals; Faith Kejbou (Warren, Mich./Fairfield), whose best finish was at the Detroit Mercy 5k, where she finished in 38th place; and Leah Steinke (Windsor, Ontario/Kennedy C.I.), who had two 20th-place finishes (Cross Country Only Nationals and Michigan Intercollegiate 6k).

With a difficult schedule lying ahead, including a tough conference to compete in, 2006 should be an exciting season for the women's cross country team. According to Cummins, "We are looking for someone that wants to be in the top five and we have people that are talented. We have to find out who wants to contribute to make our team successful."

The season begins September 1 at the Upper Peninsula Open in Houghton, Mich.