Rob Gregoire

Vermillion, S.D. - Two home events and road trips to several prestigious collegiate meets will highlight The University of South Dakota’s 2009 cross country schedule, which was released Thursday by Head Coach Dan Fitzsimmons.

“We have a great mix of experience and youth coming into camp,” Fitzsimmons said. “It will be exciting to see how quickly this team can gel into a highly competitive team as the season progresses.”

The Coyotes open their season at home for an eighth consecutive season, as USD hosts the sixth annual Don Baker Invitational on Sept. 5 at the Don Baker Cross Country Course. A meet which the Coyotes have historically dominated, a USD runner has won on the men’s and women’s side all eight years, while South Dakota has claimed the team title the past three seasons on both sides.

“This year bringing home the team title is going to mean a lot more than any other year in the past,” Fitzsimmons said. “This year we have nine programs committed for the college division. It’s the opening meet for most of the programs in the area, so it gives everybody a good start.”

South Dakota will also host the third annual Tim Young Open on Oct. 9 at the same course. North Dakota, Creighton and Concordia-Nebraska will battle the Coyotes as part of USD’s Dakota Days celebration.

“The nice part of home meets is you always know you are going to have a course you are familiar with that you can compare your progress from one season to the next,” Fitzsimmons said. “Very few programs have a permanent course that is the same exact route from one year to the next. Cross country coaches like those kind of courses because it gives them a chance to mark progress.”

USD will also run against some talented competition at several meets on the road this fall. The Coyotes travel to the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational in Lincoln, Neb., on Sept. 19, and follow with an appearance at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn., on Sept. 26. The Huskers’ meet regularly draws some of the best schools in the region, while the Golden Gophers host one of the most well-known meets in the nation.

“Given that we are very young, these meets will provide our runners immediate experience so by the time they come back as upperclassmen they know what to expect,” Fitzsimmons said. “This gives our athletes a chance to see what Division I cross country is all about.”

The Coyotes wrap up their season at the Great West Conference Championships in Newark, N.J., on Oct. 31. A bit of a homecoming, Fitzsimmons grew up in New York City, just 10 miles from Newark, before running at the University of South Dakota and coaching Yankton (S.D.) high school cross country for 22 years. He is entering his second year at USD. The Coyote women finished second at last year’s conference meet, behind an individual title from Ramsey Fitzsimmons (Sr., Yankton, S.D.), while the men claimed fourth.

Both South Dakota squads start their fall camp by reporting to Vermillion on Monday, and will spend the week at Broom Tree Resort west of Irene, S.D. The women’s squad, which was picked to finish second in the league in the Great West Preseason Coaches Poll, will be led by Ramsey. The lone senior on this fall’s women’s squad, Ramsey won four meets last year and was named the Great West Conference Runner of the Year, after collecting weekly honors six times. Juniors Sarah Wickman (Iowa City, Iowa) and Tianna Hurtado (Loveland, Colo.) return after both missed the conference meet last season, and will be looked upon to provide leadership on and off the course.

“We don’t return a lot of our top seven from the Great West meet, but that is a little misleading because two of our top seven that weren’t at conference are coming back,” Coach Fitzsimmons said.

USD also has several young runners that could contribute this fall. Seven incoming freshmen round out the women’s squad of 12. Sophomore Abigail Duling (Gregory, S.D.) showed promise last season until an illness slowed her down, and could provide key depth for the Coyotes this season. Freshman Carol Miller (Mead, Neb.) finished third in Class A at the Nebraska state meet as a senior in her first year of cross country, while fellow freshmen Ali Gress (Papillion, Neb.), Angela Luedke (Omaha, Neb.) and Sigornie Pfefferle (Grand Island, Neb.) all competed against Yankton teams led by Coach Fitzsimmons.

“We think we have a good crew of freshmen coming in,” he said. “Carol is one of those diamonds in the rough that we think will rise to the top as the season progresses. Ali, Angela and Sigornie are all girls I had the pleasure of coaching against, and we think, given the same opportunity my Yankton kids had, these three can surprise some people.”

On the men’s side, senior Rob Gregoire (Wakonda, S.D.) heads a squad that was picked to finish fourth in the league in the Great West Preseason Coaches Poll. Gregoire paced the Coyotes in all seven of their meets last year and earned All-Great West honors. Fellow senior Sean Fitzsimmons (Yankton, S.D.) and junior Andrew Duba (Sioux Falls, S.D.) will also vye for all-conference accolades this year, after finished one place away from the honors last fall.

“We think those guys are going to be challenged to be 1-2-3 on our team this year,” Coach Fitzsimmons said. “This team right now on paper is a far better team than we had last year. I certainly feel like this is a team to look out for.”

Sophomore Nick Beare (Sioux Falls, S.D.) will also be looked upon to provide direction for the men, after showing big strides in his first year in the program.

“He really developed as the year went on and stepped up to be a leader on the team,” Coach Fitzsimmons said. “We expect to see a great deal of improvement from last year to this year in his performances in cross country.”

The Coyote men welcome six newcomers to the squad this season, but the class is considered one of the best in recent years. Kiko Mendoza (Eagle Butte, S.D.) joins USD after becoming the only four-time state cross country champion in South Dakota high school history. Andy Coy (Hill City, S.D.) finished third to Mendoza as a senior, and is joined on the Coyote squad by high school teammate Clint Lewis (Hill City, S.D.). Eric Thein (Fr., Tipton, Iowa) also comes to USD after claiming a state cross country title in Iowa. Senior Jesse Sewell (Kahoka, Mo.) will have one year to compete for the Coyotes will he pursues his master’s degree.