Rhodes College Athletics

The Rhodes College women's cross country team won the SCAC championship on Saturday 10/27 at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. Rhodes' score of 38 was just enough to finish ahead of 2nd place DePauw Univ., who scored 42 points.


According to coach Robert Shankman, it was probably the most difficult course Rhodes has ever run, because it was full of hills and contained very few flat sections.

"I thought it would be difficult for our runners because we tend to be light runners who are speed oriented … we are not power oriented runners," said Shankman.

Regardless, the Lynx rose to the challenge and turned in their highest finish of the year. In its three previous meets (the Plough Park Invitational, the Univ. of the South Invitational, and the Mississippi College Invitational) the team had finished in 2nd place.

Depth had been a major concern all year, but it turned out to be a non-factor during the conference meet. Amy Paine, Elizabeth Wester, and Marie Brandewiede--Rhodes' top three runners--have run exceptionally all year long, and are three of the top runners in the region, as well. "Amy, Elizabeth, and Marie trained extremely hard over the summer, and because of this they have been very consistent for us this season," said Shankman.

Therefore, it became very important that Rhodes also perform well in the 4th and 5th positions. Junior Betsy Bogler is one of the top five runners on the team, but she has been slowed this fall due to a calf strain that has prohibited her from training on a daily basis. At the SCAC meet, she ran a good race nonetheless, finishing in 5th place for Rhodes and 18th overall with a time of 20:38. The surprise of the meet for the Lynx, however, was freshman Marianne Falk, who ran the race in 19:56 and smashed her personal record by over a minute. Falk (Lexington, Kentucky) has actually been at Rhodes for a year, but sat out in 2000 after transferring from the University of Colorado. Falk was behind DePauw's 5th runner after two miles, but paced herself well and ran a strong final mile to finish ahead of DePauw's 4th place runner.

"Marianne stepped up when it counted most and ran her best race of the year," said Shankman. "There is no doubt that Marianne was the difference in us winning this meet."

Not to be overlooked, though, was the performance of Rhodes' "Big Three," who have been the backbone of the team all year long. Sophomore Brandewiede (St. Louis, MO) broke her own personal record with a time of 19:27, placing 5th overall in the race. Wester came in 4th place overall in the meet with a time of 19:22. Leading the way for the Lynx once again, though, was junior Amy Paine who was the meet's overall winner with a time of 19:06. Paine ran a smart race, remaining behind the front pack and preserving her energy until the end, when she made her move and came out on top. For her performance, she was named the SCAC Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year. Paine, Wester, Brandewiede, and Falk were all named to the All-SCAC team.

It was a team goal all year long to win the conference meet. Not only did the team train hard for this, but they also had wonderful chemistry and leadership throughout the year, and this made an impact. For coach Robert Shankman, this year's team has been one of his favorites since taking over the program in 1990.

"I'm extremely proud of this group because of the positive attitude and enthusiasm they have shown all year," said Shankman. "I have never coached a group of girls who were this close and supportive of one another."

Rhodes has now won the women's conference title during 5 of the last 7 years, finishing in 2nd place in both 1998 and 2000. They will now begin to prepare for the Southeast Regional meet, hosted by Mississippi College on November 10th. Last year the women finished 2nd behind Emory University at the Regional meet.