Season Preview: Sea Gulls look for CAC sweep for third straight year
SALISBURY, Md. - Over the past two seasons the Salisbury University cross country team has raised the bar in the Capital Athletic Conference and with its second consecutive sweep of the men's and women's conference crowns the Sea Gulls are looking to use 2007 as a stepping stone into the NCAA national championships.

"Every year our main goal is to win the conference championship. We want to defend our title and do our part in helping the school win the CAC All-Sports Award," said SU coach Jim Jones. "Our second goal, and our team really believes they are capable of doing this, is to qualify for nationals as a team."

Men's Team
The SU men's team held off the University of Mary Washington to capture the team's second straight CAC title, sixth overall, in 2006. Salisbury had four runners place in the top 10 at the '06 CAC Championships at Winter Place Park and it welcomes back three of those student-athletes.

Leading the charge for the men will be '06 team MVP Buck Stokes (Lothian, Md.). The senior earned All-CAC first-team honors last year and finished in the top five in three separate events. His time of 25:43 placed him third at the conference championships.

"Buck is a senior that provides excellent leadership for our team," said Jones who is entering his eighth season as the helm of the SU cross country program. "He is like having another coach out there for the younger runners."

Joining Stokes is fellow senior Eric Graves (Catonsville, Md.). Graves finished fifth at the conference meet last year and was a first-team All-CAC runner. He and Stokes are expected to combine to make a potent one-two punch for the men's team.

"Those two runners [Stokes and Graves] are capable of leading us to the NCAA's as a team," said Jones.

SU also returns a very solid runner in senior Carl Blickle (Woolrich Township, N.J.) who was named second-team All-CAC last year. Blickle finished 11th at the CAC Championships and helped seal the deal for the Sea Gulls’ second consecutive title.

Salisbury is also very optimistic about incoming freshman Chris Barnard (Olney, Md.). Barnard ran a 4:19 mile en route to a third place finish at the Maryland 4A State Championships last year and is expected to make an immediate impact for SU.

"He has already competed against top notch competition in high school," said Jones. "That's going to help in his transition to the college level. We have high expectations for him."

Women's Team
The Sea Gull women have won three straight CAC championships, four overall, and show no signs of slowing down. SU welcomes back twin sisters Kelly and Glenna Sullivan (Phoenix, Md.) who were both named first-team all-conference. In addition, Kelly was named CAC Athlete of the Year and finished first at the conference meet, just 11 seconds ahead of her sister who finished second.

The Sullivans were the only two SU athletes to qualify for the NCAA national championships in 2006. Kelly finished 71st and Glenna in 185th place at a muddy Voice of America Park in West Chester, Ohio.

"Those two are awfully talented distance runners," said Jones of the Sullivans who are juniors. "I expect them to run in the front of the pack all year long."

Returning with the Sullivans will be fellow junior and first-team All-CAC selection Jenn Bulger (Verona, N.J.). Bulger finished fifth at the conference meet and was one of two SU athletes to be named team Unsung Hero.

"Jenn had back surgery over the summer and has slowly gotten back into the mix of running," said Jones. "By November, when it really counts, she will be back to full strength and ready to go."

The Sea Gulls also return a pair of seniors that provide invaluable leadership to the team. Senior Zuzka O'Zwoldike (Tuckerton, N.J.), a co-Unsung Hero in '06, and Casey McInerny (Elmira, N.Y.) have been integral parts to the success of Salisbury over the years.

"Both of these ladies play key roles in our success in the conference," said Jones. "They have been here since the beginning and they want to go start to finish as conference champions."

The Sea Gulls also return sophomore Emily Hammonds (Richmond, Va.). She finished 12th at the conference meet and is expected to be one of the top female runners for SU this season.

Schedule
The Salisbury schedule ranks among the more competitive in the nation as the schedule not only features Division III schools, but Division II and Division I competition as well. After the Sea Gulls' first meet of the season on September 1 they will be tested at the Towson University Invitational. The men have taken home the title the last two years at the TU Invitational and look to continue its winning ways against the Division I talent.

The following week Salisbury travels to the Big Apple to take part in the New York University Invitational. A total of 30 teams will participate highlighted by NYU who finished second nationally in the men's division. Salisbury has not participated in the NYU Invitational since 2003 where it finished 17th out of 33 teams in the men's field and 13th out of 33 teams in the women’s field.

Salisbury's second and final home meet of the season is on September 29. The Gulls welcome East Stroudsburg and Mount Union, among others, to Winter Place Park. East Stroudsburg men's team finished in the top 15 nationally in Division II, while Mount Union, coach Jones' alma mater, finished in the top 25 in the Division III men’s field.

"There is no question we will be tested early in the season," said Jones. "Those teams we compete against are only going to help us as we prepare for the conference championships."

The biggest meet of the season is the CAC championships which will be held on November 3 at York (Pa.) College.

"It's the biggest meet of the year. Mary Washington is our biggest rival and we look forward to the challenge," said Jones.

After the conference tournament the Sea Gulls will prepare for the NCAA Regionals followed, hopefully, by the NCAA national championships. The top four teams from each region qualify for nationals and the Sea Gulls' expectations are nothing less than a trip to St. Olaf College (Minn.) and a chance to compete for the 2007 NCAA Division III national championship.