Cross Country Runs Strong at Private College Championships
Ritger places sixth overall for women while Wagoner paces men
Oct. 17, 2009
Ripon, Wis. – The Cardinal Stritch University Wolves men’s and women’s cross country teams had a good day while competing in the Wisconsin Private College Cross Championships on Saturday afternoon. Hosted by Ripon College, the women were paced by Jocelyn Ritger and a ninth place team finish while the men were led by Shawn Wagoner and an 11th place team finish.
As she has been doing all season long, Jocelyn Ritger continued to lead the way for the women’s team. Racing in the 6k, Ritger placed sixth overall with a time of 24:27 and was named first team All-State.
“Jocelyn continues to excel on the course,” head coach Karen Rinehart said. “Her practice efforts are translating into some great results with today being another example of that.”
Brittany Suleski, Malorie Hauch, Claire Wolf, and Marcie Weiss also added strong finishes for the Stritch. Suleski finished 45th with a time of 27:49, Hauch closed the day at 55th with her time of 28:15. Wolf, who achieved a personal best by more than a minute, finished the day at 63rd with a time of 28:51. Weiss rounded the day out by placing 71st with a time of 30:50. The women, as a team, finished ninth.
“Brittany and Claire both had great days for us,” Rinehart added. “Claire achieved a personal best by more than a minute, showing her determination towards becoming a better runner. It was a solid day overall by all the ladies.”
For the men, each of them achieved their best times of the year. Shawn Wagoner continued to have a strong season, finishing 65th in the men’s 8k. Wagoner closed out the day with a time of 30:15.
Quinn Crawford, Jake Tanel, Aaron Abraham, and Trevor Rees each added to the cause as Crawford placed 70th with a time of 30:44, Tanel in 90th at 32:53, Abraham at 93rd with a time of 33:25, and Rees closing out at 35:10, good for 99th.
“All of the guys did a great job today,” Rinehart said. “They’ve continued to work very hard in practices and each achieved their best times of the year in today’s race. Just like the women, the guys did very well.”
The Wolves will take a week off from competition before competing in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Cross Country Championships on Nov. 7. The meet will be hosted by the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Ill.
Cross Country Participates in Sean Earl InviteWomen and Men race on the campus of Loyola University
Oct. 3, 2009
Chicago, Ill. – The Cardinal Stritch University men’s and women’s cross country teams ran in the 37th Annual Sean Earl Invitational on Saturday afternoon in Chicago, Ill. Hosted by Loyola University, the women received a strong performance by Jocelyn Ritger while the men were paced by Shawn Wagner.
The women, as a team, would end up finishing in 30th out of 34 competing teams however Ritger would lead the way with another good day. Ritger, who has been the Wolves top finisher in all of their races finished in 174th place out of 378 total runners. She would finish with a time of 20:49.
Also finishing for the women were Brittany Suleski, Malorie Hauch, Claire Wolf, and Marcie Weiss. Suleski and Hauch would finish 303rd and 307th, respectively, with times of 22:56 and 23:01. Wolf and Weiss would round things out for the women with times of 24:36 and 25:42, good for 343rd and 358th.
On the men’s side, Shawn Wagner led the Wolves by taking 326th place out of 408 total runners. Wagner would finish the event with a time of 31:01. Other finishers for the Stritch men would be Quinn Crawford and Trevor Rees. Crawford would finish 350th with a time of 31:54 while Rees would close the day at 391 with a time of 35:19.
Stritch will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 10 as both teams will head down to Kenosha, Wis. where they will race in the Lucian Rosa Invite held by the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. The women will start things off with their race starting at 11:15 a.m. with the men to follow at noon.
Stritch Cross Country Opens 2009 SeasonWomen’s placed 10th while men place 11th at Tom Barry Invite
Sept. 5, 2009
Green Bay, Wis. – The Cardinal Stritch University men’s and women’s cross country teams opened up the 2009 season by participating in the Tom Barry Invite hosted by St. Norbert College on Saturday afternoon. The women paced the way by finishing 10 out of 14 teams while the men finished 11 out of 12 teams.For the Stritch women, Jocelyn Ritger paced the way by finishing the 5,000-meter run with a time of 20:44, good for a 17th place finish out of 136 collegiate runners. Following up the strong performance by Ritger was Britany Suleski, who completed the race by placing 41 with a time of 22:10.
“Jocelyn is a smart runner who knows and controls her pace very well,” head coach Karen Rinehart said. “Her workouts this fall have been strong, consistently ending her workouts with faster times than her first intervals. She has some assertive and achievable goals for the season and this race provides a good starting point. Britany also ran an excellent race and transitioned well from the 4K to 5K distance. She pushes herself very well in practice and doing so paid off today. I am looking forward to the races she will run and the ways she will contribute to the team this season.”
Other finishers for the women included Malorie Hauch, who finished 78 with a time of 23:47, Claire Wolfe, who placed 114 with a time of 25:41, and Marcie Weiss, who completed the race at 122 with a time of 26:44.
On the men’s side, the Wolves were led by Shawn Wagner. Wagner placed 52 out of 159 collegiate runners with a time of 24:08.
“Shawn ran an excellent race,” Coach Rinehart said. “His efforts today were much like his efforts are in our practices - positive, focused and determined. After a fast first mile, Shawn held onto his pace well and his last mile split was his second-fastest, which shows a lot of strength. This endurance and speed at the end will be great to build upon as he moves to the 8K distance next week.”
Following things up for the men were Quinn Crawford, who finished 75 with a time of 25:09. Jake Tanel finished 100 with a time of 27:11 with teammates Aaron Abraham, who placed 102 with a time of 27:13, and Trevor Rees, who complete the event in 30:24 in 124, right with him.
“Today was a good day for both men’s and women’s programs,” Rinehart added. “We had several athletes that ran for the first time in their collegiate careers and came out with many positives. The information gained from today will give us great feedback for the things we’ll work on heading into next week.”
Up next, the Wolves will head to Aurora, Ill. for the Spartan Classic held on the campus of Aurora University on Friday, Sept. 11. The women’s race will kick things off at 4:30 p.m. with the men’s race to follow at 5:15 p.m.
Rinehart Named Cross Country CoachAssistant to take over program
Oct. 3, 2009 – The Cardinal Stritch University men’s and women’s cross country teams ran in the 37th Annual Sean Earl Invitational on Saturday afternoon in Chicago, Ill. Hosted by Loyola University, the women received a strong performance by Jocelyn Ritger while the men were paced by Shawn Wagner. The women, as a team, would end up finishing in 30th out of 34 competing teams however Ritger would lead the way with another good day. Ritger, who has been the Wolves top finisher in all of their races finished in 174th place out of 378 total runners. She would finish with a time of 20:49. Also finishing for the women were Brittany Suleski, Malorie Hauch, Claire Wolf, and Marcie Weiss. Suleski and Hauch would finish 303rd and 307th, respectively, with times of 22:56 and 23:01. Wolf and Weiss would round things out for the women with times of 24:36 and 25:42, good for 343rd and 358th. On the men’s side, Shawn Wagner led the Wolves by taking 326th place out of 408 total runners. Wagner would finish the event with a time of 31:01. Other finishers for the Stritch men would be Quinn Crawford and Trevor Rees. Crawford would finish 350th with a time of 31:54 while Rees would close the day at 391 with a time of 35:19. Stritch will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 10 as both teams will head down to Kenosha, Wis. where they will race in the Lucian Rosa Invite held by the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. The women will start things off with their race starting at 11:15 a.m. with the men to follow at noon.
Oct. 3, 2009 – The Cardinal Stritch University men’s and women’s cross country teams ran in the 37th Annual Sean Earl Invitational on Saturday afternoon in Chicago, Ill. Hosted by Loyola University, the women received a strong performance by Jocelyn Ritger while the men were paced by Shawn Wagner. The women, as a team, would end up finishing in 30th out of 34 competing teams however Ritger would lead the way with another good day. Ritger, who has been the Wolves top finisher in all of their races finished in 174th place out of 378 total runners. She would finish with a time of 20:49. Also finishing for the women were Brittany Suleski, Malorie Hauch, Claire Wolf, and Marcie Weiss. Suleski and Hauch would finish 303rd and 307th, respectively, with times of 22:56 and 23:01. Wolf and Weiss would round things out for the women with times of 24:36 and 25:42, good for 343rd and 358th. On the men’s side, Shawn Wagner led the Wolves by taking 326th place out of 408 total runners. Wagner would finish the event with a time of 31:01. Other finishers for the Stritch men would be Quinn Crawford and Trevor Rees. Crawford would finish 350th with a time of 31:54 while Rees would close the day at 391 with a time of 35:19. Stritch will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 10 as both teams will head down to Kenosha, Wis. where they will race in the Lucian Rosa Invite held by the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. The women will start things off with their race starting at 11:15 a.m. with the men to follow at noon.
Mar. 3, 2009
Milwaukee, Wis. – Cardinal Stritch University Athletics announced that Karen Rinehart will be the newest head cross country coach at Stritch.
Rinehart, who served as the assistant coach for the program last season, will take the place of John Pfaffl. Pfaffl was promoted earlier this year to be the Director of Intramurals and Recreation.
“We are extremely excited to have Karen take over this role,” Director of Athletics Pat Clemens said. “She’s out-going, organized, and will be a solid mentor for a growing program.”
The St. Louis, Mo. native takes over the program with a great deal of experience with her. A graduate of Northwestern, Rinehart was a four-year member of the Wildcats’ cross county program and co-captain her junior and senior seasons. The Wolves head coach was also named All-Academic Big Ten three times and was a part of Northwestern University’s first ever appearance in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Cross Country Championships in 2002.
Rinehart is looking forward to the challenges of building upon the program’s current foundation.
“Cross country is a special sport in which you can have individual and team success,” Rinehart said. “There’s already a strong sense of ‘team’ in our existing group of runners and now we have to build upon that foundation to create an atmosphere that will allow our runners to compete in team scoring. With that in mind, it’s a big goal of mine to grow this program to the point where runners are both improving individually and contributing to team success for Stritch Athletics.”
Rinehart currently holds a degree in Political and Environmental Science from Northwestern and a Masters of Educational Leadership from Marquette University. She and her husband, Bill, currently reside in Glendale.