XU cross country sets sights high under new leadership

The men's and women's cross country teams are looking to replicate
their succes from the 2011-12 season this year.
In 2011, the men's team finished
eighth in the Atlantic 10 Championships and had four students on the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll.
The women's team finished
seventh in the A-10 Championships and had 11 students on the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll.
As the teams enter the new season, they will be led by a new head coach, Ryan Orner.
He spent five years at Johns Hopkins University and one year at the University of Cincinnati as an assistant coach, making this his first head coaching job.
"I'm excited to coach all of the talented and hard-working student-athletes that have made this program successful in the past, and I'm looking forward to elevating the program to new levels," Orner said.
Joining the men's team this year are new teammates Bart Denham and Austin Winter.
Denham, from Lexington, Ky, helped lead his team to city and regional championships in 2008 and 2009.
Winter, from Laingsburg, Mich., was named to the CAAC All-League First Team and Division 3 All-Region rosters three straight seasons.
The women's team will have four new additions this season.
Victoria Ciotti out of St. James, NY went to state all four years in high school and will be looking to bring that energy to this Xavier team.
Coming from Simpsonville, Ky. is Caterina Karas. Karas was able to set the Kentucky state 5K record with her first-place finishing
time of 18:11.92 at the 2010 KHSAA AA Cross Country Championship.
Hometown runner Sarah Mazzei is the third freshman joining
the women's team and was named to the All-Star First Team four times in cross country.
The fourth new runner for the Musketeers, Emily Wolery, comes from Lima, Ohio.
Wolery was a three-time regional
qualifier and was three times named to the Western Buckeye All-League First Team.
The seniors on this season's men's team are runners Matt Coniglio, Hank Geer and redshirt
senior Ben Foley.
Seniors for the women's team this year include Calesse Cardosi, Rachel Clark and Kaitlin Price.
With many returners from last season, some new faces to join the team and a new, enthusiastic head coach, this year's cross country team will look to improve on last year's successful season.