Aug. 22, 2000

Cross Country Teams to Hold Intra-Squad Meets This Weekend

The Truman State University cross country teams will make their debuts on Saturday with an intra-squad meet at Thousand Hills State Park. The women will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the men to follow at 11 a.m.

The Truman women, the preseason favorite to win the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association title, return all of their top runners in 2000. The Bulldogs are led by junior Beth Luebbering (St. Thomas, Mo./Helias) and sophomore Leah Zidon (Bondurant, Iowa/Bondurant-Farrar), two returning all-MIAA performers. Luebbering was the team's top finisher in six of seven races in 1999, while Zidon turned in a solid freshman campaign finishing in among the squad's top two all year. Two others, juniors Brandy Leffler (Gibbs, Mo./Brashear) and Emily Komiskey (Galena, Ill/Dubuque Wahlert) are also coming off seasons in which they consistently finished among the team's top five.

The Bulldog men return three all-conference performers in juniors Andy Doering (Florissant, Mo./McCluer North), Ben Rosario (St. Louis/SLUH) and Matt Helbig (Fenton, Mo./Rockwood Summit). Doering, Truman's top finisher in six of seven events last year, is a returning all-America and finished 26th last year at the NCAA Division II Championships.

The teams will open their regular seasons on Sept. 2. The men will travel to Edwardsville, Ill. for the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Open, while the women will compete in Macomb, Ill., at the Western Illinois University Early Bird Invitational.

Men's Cross Country Releases | Women's Cross Country Releases
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