Men's Outlook

Despite being fairly young this season, the Warriors return eight of their top 10 runners from a year ago, including seniors Adrian Ramirez (Yakima, WA) and Mickael Sopel (Toulouse, France), who should lead the team. Ramirez has improved each year of his running and was on the national team last fall. Collins said that experience and the fact that he continues to get faster – he set a personal best in the 5,000m last spring – indicate that he is ready to do great things this year.

Sopel, who is also on the tennis team, came to the squad last year as a last minute addition. “He just missed out on being one of the runners at the national meet, but this year he will come in having trained over the summer with the intent of running, so we expect great things from him,” Collins said.

The team has only one junior in Eric Tuwei (Kapsebet, Kenya), but he is a good one. Last year he PR’d by running in the low 25’s for 8K, but a lower leg injury slowed him later in the season. Collins said Tuwei has been running great this summer, beating all of his summer marks from a year ago, so everyone should watch out when he gets going this fall.

Collins said he has a good crew of sophomores. Sean Huey (Boise, ID) is the top returner from the national team last year, running in the mid 25’s for 8,000m during the season. “He should be much improved this year as we have been working on his consistency in racing, and his motivation level is extremely high in regards to what he wants to accomplish this season,” Collins said.

Chris McConnell (Portland, OR) will also be a huge factor this year. Last year he spent a lot of time adjusting to the distance and the training, but he has been extremely committed to his training this summer and for the first time has been healthy for a full year, Collins said. “I believe he is going to surprise a lot of people this fall,” Collins said.

Collins said Jake Miller (Craig, CO) should also be a big factor this season. He spent all season as one of the top seven runners on the team and worked very hard to be there. His experience at the national meet this past year should help him get even better.

“We have a very talented group of incoming freshmen that will all push the returners and make the entire team better,” Collins said. Jon Dalton (Deary, ID) is a local runner who won multiple state titles this past year. Collins said Dalton has a great work ethic and great attitude and will challenge for a top spot on the team. Frank Lagrimanta (Spirit Lake, ID) is also a very accomplished runner. “He graduated a year ago, so it may take little time to get him up to speed, but he was one of the most accomplished runners in the state of Idaho, and we believe he will continue that success at the college level,” Collins said.

Another freshman that Collins believes can contribute immediately is Grant Eldridge (Clackamas, OR). Collins said he ran some great high school races in both cross country and track and has great leg speed. Eldridge and McConnell trained together some during the summer, so Collins feels Eldridge should transition into the team very easily.

“Additionally, a couple more freshmen that we think are going to catch some people by surprise are Andy Keim (Havre, MT) and Clayton Kearl (Salt Lake City, UT),” Collins said. “Andy just missed out of qualifying for state this past spring in both the 1600 and 3200m races, and he ran well last fall in the Montana cross country championships, all at altitude. Clayton has also had to deal with the altitude coming from Salt Lake City. Clayton was having a great track season before breaking a bone in his foot late in the season. This has slowed his training over the summer, but as we get into the year we should see him moving up each week.”

The Warriors have three additional runners from Idaho that Collins thinks will be very good college runners and will take some by surprise this fall. Jarret Wade (Rexburg, ID) is used to running at high altitudes and Collins feels that running, along with his great attitude and motivation to run great at the college level, will lead him to great things this fall. Scott Sweet (Nampa, ID) will also catch some people unaware. “Scott is a racer and loves to race,” Collins said. “Once he gets into this environment where his training will step up a notch because of his teammates, we will see him racing even better.” And, a last minute addition to the roster, Pedro Morales (Hailey, ID) is also expected to strengthen the core of the team. 

Collins said despite the youth of the team, he feels this is the most talented men’s team he has ever had as a group. “It may take a little time for the experience to kick in, but we believe that before the season is over we will see this team running as a great pack and accomplishing great things,” Collins said.

Along with the new faces, the Warriors will compete in a new system to qualify for nationals. The NAIA has gone to a conference structure in determining national qualifiers and the Frontier Conference has been combined with two other conferences in the Midwest to determine the groupings qualifier(s). Collins says he isn’t sure how this will all work out, but adds the bottom line is that the Warriors need to be running well to qualify for nationals.

LCSC will play host to the conference championships this year and after having won both the men’s and women’s titles a year ago, Collins says it’s likely the Warriors will initially be the favorites this year. However, all the other schools in the conference have significantly improved their teams, so it will be a great challenge to repeat.

“We have a great bunch of student-athletes as well as supporters from within the community, the college and families and we are very excited to start the season and see where it takes us,” Collins says.

Women's Outlook

LCSC coach Mike Collins says this year’s team will be one of the youngest he has ever had in his 11 years with the program. With only one senior and three juniors, LCSC will be relying heavily on them to provide leadership and guidance to all of the younger runners in the program.

Despite its youth, this is a very talented team with five athletes having run under 19 minutes for 5,000 meters and an additional seven that have run in the mid 19’s.

“They have been working very hard this summer and despite a few small injuries over that time, this team should be ready to vie for its eighth consecutive trip to nationals this fall,” Collins says. “It may take a few meets to get going, but I truly expect them to be running their best at the end when it matters the most. Hopefully we will have run well enough before then to be in a position to earn a spot at the national meet.”

LCSC’s top returners include juniors Kyli Astle (Shoshone, ID), Lindsay Szybura (Orting, WA) and Katja Loevslett (Stavenger, Norway), all of whom have run in the 18-minute range for 5K. They, along with senior Rosa Bautista (Stanfield, OR), have the talent and personalities to be significant leaders and examples to the team of what it takes to be successful and to improve, Collins says.

“Kyli showed a significant improvement last year by setting a personal best by over a minute,” Collins says. “She has been extremely focused this summer and we look for great things from her.

“Lindsay had a little bit of an off-year as a sophomore after a great freshman season, but she really turned it around this last spring qualifying for nationals in the steeplechase (in track),” Collins continued. “That motivation and desire has continued in the summer and there is no doubt she will be forging a path this fall.”

Collins said Loevslett dealt with a nagging foot injury last year that carried into the spring as well. Despite this she ran well and contributed to the team’s success. “However, we know that being healthy will show her running talent more this year,” Collins said. “Rosa also had a significant PR last season running in the low 19’s for the first time. She has improved every year that she has been here and I am sure it will continue into this, her final campaign as a Warrior. She is a great leader and helps to make all of those around her better.”

Collins said additional returners this season include Jessie Gulsvig (Colorado Springs, CO), who started off the year hot, but injured a hip about two-thirds of the way through the year, which significantly affected her running. “She is a great hill climber and now that she is healthy again we expect great things from her,” Collins said.

Casey Hampton (Bonners Ferry, ID) also returns as a sophomore this year. She is one of the cogs in the team that keeps it running smoothly, according to Collins. “Although I know she did not run as well as she wanted a year ago, she has been working hard to make adjustments to her form and she will be making great strides this season.”

Madison Randall (Eugene, OR) redshirted last season after coming down with mononucleosis. “It took the fall, winter and a good part of the spring before she was beginning to run like she is capable of running,” Collins said. “We are looking forward to seeing what she can do this fall.”

There are a lot of new runners this season as well. “It will take me a while to get to know them and determine their strengths and weaknesses, but there is no doubt they will be a huge factor in our success this season,” Collins said.

Rachael Park is a Lewiston native who transferred back to LC last winter. She had a good high school career and Collins said he is excited to see what she can do as a college runner. Another transfer is Sheree Barbour (Tacoma, WA) out of Highline Community College. She has run some very good cross country times, despite limited mileage. “We believe that as we increase her mileage over time, she will get even better,” Collins said.

Incoming freshmen include Tayler Harrington (Medford, OR) and Kelsey Klettke (Vancouver, WA). Both have had some injuries this past spring/summer that have slowed them a little, but they are now on track and Collins believe they are going to contribute considerably this season and be a big part of the future of the program.

Additionally, Stephanie Shuel (Yakima, WA) and Whitlee Young (Quincy, WA) have already accomplished a lot in their high school careers and will continue that success as Warriors, Collins said. Also freshmen Amanda Palmer (Weiser, ID) and Kirsten White (Salinas, CA) have had great high school careers and are used to success. This experience and drive will undoubtedly help them continue that at LCSC, Collins said.

Finally, Francis Rojas (Lima, Peru) will be joining the team. “She has limited experience in cross country as she has been more of a 400, 800, and 1,500 track runner, but we believe that as she adjusts to the distance she will be contributing to the success of the team before the season is over,” Collins said.