Women's Cross Country | 9/4/2012 2:53:00 PM

ROCHESTER, NY - The 2011 season was a successful campaign for the RIT women's cross country team. The Tigers finished fourth at the Liberty League Championships and went on to take 14^th place at the NCAA District Qualifiers. This season, sixth-year coach Dave Stevens has bigger expectations.
 
“This is the biggest roster in RIT women's cross country history and has the best quality from top to bottom,” said Stevens. “There is no reason we can't put a team in the NCAA's as long as we come together.”
 
Standout #Erin LaFave (Troy, MI/Bloomfield Hills Lahser)# returns for her senior year looking to duplicate her impressive 2011 season. In the season opener, LaFave finished first at the Brockport Invitational and never slowed down. She was RIT's top finisher in every meet and earned a spot at the NCAA Championships with a ninth place finish at the Atlantic Regional Meet, setting a school record. She broke her own school record the next week at the NCAA Championships with a time of 22:16.75, finishing 96^th.  
 
“Erin is one of the top 10 runners in the region,” said Stevens. “I am counting on her to have a big year.”
 
Stevens will also rely on the veteran leadership of two senior captains, #Katrijn Moulin (Scarborough, ME/Scarborough) and Rachel Zoyhofski (Rochester, NY/Rush-Henrietta)#, who will be counted on to guide the young runners.
 
“Rachel has a lot of high level racing experience and Katrijn has great prospective,” Stevens said. “They are both great mentors.” 
 
Moulin's best finish came in the Paul Short Invitational where she placed second on the team, and 32^nd overall, with a time of 24:31. Zoyhofski wrapped up a solid season and went on to participate in the Pan-Am Games and the Olympic Trials in long distance race-walking. 
 
Senior #Amanda Dole (Mantua, NJ/Clearview Regional)# will be expected to be a top runner for the Tigers in 2012. She finished second to LaFave twice and third on four other occasions. Her strong season earned her spots on the All-Liberty League and All-State teams last year.  
 
Sophomore #Kaylin Beiter (Lima, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima)# had a consistent first year as a Tiger and really opened her coaches eyes in her second meet, at the RPI Invitational finishing 15^th overall.
 
Sophomore #Danielle Marino (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs)# missed time last year due to injury but has impressed the coaching staff upon her return. She has the potential to be a top three runner.  
 
A slew of newcomers hope to make an impact on the team in 2012. #Alicia Sutphin (Apalachin, NY/Vestal)#, #Amy Becker (Colonie, NY/Colonie)#, #Kristine Reed (Walton, NY/Walton)#, #Megan Karpie (Grand Island, NY/Grand Island) and Rebecca Greiner# form a strong core of freshmen.
 
“I'm looking forward to having quality depth,” said Stevens. “We have such strong runners in the middle of the pack that it's going to positively effect our overall scores.” 
 
The team begins their season with a meet at Houghton on Sept. 8. They will also compete at the University of Rochester Invitational on Sept. 15.
 
The Tigers will also compete at the NYSCTC Championships at Centre Park in Fairport on Oct. 20 and the Liberty League Championships will be in Potsdam the following weekend. NCAA District Qualifiers take place at Genesee Valley Park on Nov. 10.