University of Houston Athletics
2009 Cross Country Preview
8/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Aug. 30, 2009
HOUSTON - Beginning his third year as the University of Houston cross country head coach, Ryan Turner is anticipating what the 2009 season will bring. Coming off a strong season with many athletes returning, Turner has high hopes for the future.
"We are another year stronger and another year more experienced," Turner said. "This season will be a step towards where we eventually want to be, which is one of the top programs in the conference."
With an abundance of returning runners, Turner is confident in his team. On the men's side, five out of last season's top seven runners will come back, and virtually everyone on the women's team will return this season.
In 2008, Turner was faced with the challenge of fostering a young team when he signed nine new freshman on the men's side and added six runners on the women's team. Unlike last year, Turner will only have three new runners on each team.
Carlos Falcon, David Smith and Ryan Wonser join the Cougars for the 2009 season. Falcon graduated from St. John's school in Houston where he holds the school record in both the 3200-meter and 1600-meter runs. Smith joins UH from Eisenhower High School in Houston with many accolades including - 2007 and 2009 district champion in the 3200-meter, district cross country champion in 2007 and a three-time regional qualifier in track as well as a regional qualifier in cross country. Wonser is a Kingwood High School graduate who helped the Mustangs win four consecutive district and regional championships.
"All three are very talented kids from the Houston area who have the potential to develop. They have the talent to help us right away," Turner said.
On the women's side, the team welcomes Morgan Swan from Clear Lake and Jessica Stewart, a Faith West native. Swan was named First Team All-District cross country all four years and was a regional qualifier. Stewart was the TAPPS state champion in the 800-meter in 2006-2009.
"Both Swan and Stewart, who are going to be more of 800-meter runners and steeplechasers for us on the track, will be able to help us in cross country as well.
"Our top recruit from both classes, combined, will be Kathryn Ducommun from Manvel High School," Turner said "As a district and regional cross country champion, she has shown a lot of potential to be a great asset this year."
Ducommun helped the Mavericks win the district and regional championship in 2008 in cross country and track. Ducommun was also named First Team Cross Country of the Greater Houston Area.
Coach Turner is confident the new recruits will establish themselves as key runners on the team.
"Everyone we brought in will be able to contribute at some point in their career here at Houston," Turner explains. "We are still trying to continue to build our program; every year it gets harder here. Our athletes we have now are going to continue to get better, so it's tough for a freshman to come in and contribute to a highly competitive team, but it's a good position to be in. When freshman come in they have to compete and work harder to make that top spot and it adds an element of internal competition, which all successful teams have."
With so many returning athletes, the year looks promising. Coach Turner hopes all the athletes will continue improve and grow over the season.
"Every year we hope that our kids get better," Turner said. "Erica Hannemann is a prime example, look where she was four years ago. She is going to continue to improve this season. She showed a lot of development from cross country to track last season.
"Starla Garcia is running faster than she was during the cross country season last year. I expect her to pick up where she left off last year.
"There are a lot of variables that we can't control as coaches, but, fortunately, we have a lot of kids right now that are taking ownership in the program and really want to be successful; they understand what it takes to get there."
The cross country team will be hosting the 2009 Conference USA Championships on Oct. 31 at Bear Branch Park in the Woodlands, Texas. Coach Turner has some high expectations for this event.
"This will the first time that UH will host a cross country conference championship so it's very exciting," Turner said. "It's also a great recruiting opportunity. We're the University of Houston, and we want to recruit Houston area kids. We hope to get a lot of high school students, parents and alums to come out to watch this event. I'm sure it will stir some excitement. It promotes UH and our athletics department as a whole."
Players Mentioned
