Aug. 30, 2000

Cross Country Squads Open This Weekend in Illinois

The Truman men's and women's cross country teams will open their 2000 seasons on Saturday. The men will be competing in the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Open, while the women will head to Macomb, Ill., for the Western Illinois Early Bird Invitational.

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.

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