Oct. 12, 2000

Stony Brook, N.Y. - For the second straight season, the Stony Brook cross country and track and field program enters a new era. In 1999-2000, the Seawolves faced the new task of competing at the Division I level. This season, the challenge lies in achieving success under the guidance of new head coach Andy Ronan, who will oversee both programs. "We're trying to lay the foundation to become a competitive cross country and middle distance track program in the next four to five years," Ronan said. "We're in a transition phase, but our goal is to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships in the next four or five years."

CROSS COUNTRY OUTLOOK The women return seven runners from last season and welcome four newcomers--one transfer and three freshmen--while the men return six and add four (two transfers, two freshmen). "As a team we don't have a lot of depth on the men's or women's side," Ronan said. For the women, the Seawolves' top three will be freshman Amy Ruston, junior Jenny Payne and senior Tara Sullivan. "They have the potential to break the Top 25 in the Northeast Region," Ronan said. "Jenny has the potential for a shot at an NCAA individual qualifying spot. As a team, we want to break into the Top 20 in the Northeast Region." For the men, senior Mike Thompson and junior Dave deWolfe return to lead the Seawolves. According to Ronan, both should record the best individual finishes for Stony Brook in the region. "They have the potential to finish in the Top 40 in the Northeast Region, but their strongest events are in track and field," Ronan said. As team, Ronan is aiming for a Top 20 finish for Stony Brook with hopes that with the addition of some of the top recruits from the region, the Seawolves can progress toward a Top 10 finish in the next two or three years. "With no conference, the Northeast Region is the standard to get into the NCAA Tournament," Ronan said. "We hope that, in the near future, we can achieve one of the four at-large berths."

TRACK AND FIELD OUTLOOK Ronan's goal for the track and field Seawolves is to focus on individual finishes rather than team placement in this transitional season. "We lack depth in a lot of different areas," Ronan said. "We hope to improve that with training and improvement. Our main focus will be individual development. We hope to raise the standard of the athletes to progress to the IC4A/ECAC level, with the long-term goal of qualifying for the NCAA tournament." For the women, Payne and Ruston will compete in the mile and 3000m with the potential of qualifying for ECACs. Sophomore Jackie Berman is also a potential ECAC qualifier in the mile and the 1000m. On the men's side, deWolfe and Thompson are potential IC4A and ECAC qualifiers in the mile. Sophomore Jonathan Brims, a transfer from Hastings College in Nebraska, qualified for the NAIA Championships last season and will compete in the mile and the 800m for Stony Brook. "We'll be expecting great things from him," Ronan said. Sophomore Chris Hunt will focus on the 500m and 800m events, while senior Jason Strom is an 800m specialist. In field events, junior Craig Matuza qualified for the IC4A Championships last season in the shot put, an event in which he broke the school record. "We expect him to repeat that IC4A qualifying performance this year," Ronan said.

OVERALL OUTLOOK The past few seasons have seen a lot of transition in the Stony Brook cross country and track and field programs. Not only has the program advanced from Division III to Division I in just six short years, the Seawolves now enter a new era with head coach Andy Ronan at the helm. With Ronan's immediate focus on individual improvement and development, both individual and team achievement can't be far behind. With Ronan's and the Seawolves' hard work and dedication, Stony Brook's dreams of becoming a top program in the Northeast Region can soon be realized.