Starting Dec. 20 through Dec. 29, we are reliving the top games, championships, awards, firsts, and memories from the year that was in the Ten For 2010 series. You the fans can vote on your top story of the year starting Dec. 29, and the results will be unveiled on New Year's Day. We present our top 10 in roughly chronological order, not in a ranking of any sort.
Ten For 2010
Dec. 20: The Hall of Champions
Dec. 21: Women's Basketball In The NCAA Tournament
Dec. 22: Lax Comes Back
Dec. 23: Softball's NCAA Run
Dec. 24: Field Hockey Is #1
Dec. 25: LVC Cares
Dec. 26: Football's Turnaround
Dec. 27: "The Comeback"
Dec. 28: Cross Country's Turnaround
It's impressive to consider just how far the Lebanon Valley College cross country program has elevated itself in the past four years. It's one of those rare instances where a carefully laid-out plan came to fruition - a long-term one that included goals for everything from training to eating to sleeping.
All of that work paid off in 2010. Consider that in 2006, the women's program finished dead last at MAC Championships - 14th out of 14. This fall, they were second. The men, while not enjoying as dramatic an improvement in the standings, have greatly improved their chances and are poised to compete in 2011 with a young and promising line-up.
It all started with the arrival of James O'Brien '07 as head coach three years ago. A former LVC harrier, he knew the potential was there to turn them into contenders.
"For me, when I was here as a student-athlete, I always saw the potential, and it was very frustrating because I worked hard but we never got to see the fruit of our labor," he said. "One of the first things I did as coach was to create an environment where people could work hard and success would come."
That environment included day-by-day tasks that - hopefully - would pay off in the end. Take care of business each day, and success would follow.
"We take care of the process and the goals will take care of themselves," he said. "Our kids go above and beyond. Someone like Jenn Cronin will do three or four morning runs a week on top of practice - and getting good sleep and nutrition. That took us from a good team to a great team."
Cronin, a senior from outside New York City, proved to be the anchor for the program to build around. The three-time MAC medalist (two bronze and a silver) became the first NCAA Championships qualifier in women's program history as a junior, and she went again as a senior.
In the meantime, a talented crop of youngsters filled in behind, and there is now plenty to be excited about for 2011. Of the women's top finishers at MACs in 2010, two newcomers (Kristin Shoop and Alyssa Miller) earned second-team all-MAC honors, and fifth-place finisher Cynthia Adams, a freshman, was just four places off all-MAC status.
The men ran up against probably the deepest-ever talent pool at MACs but finished a respectable sixth, but they will bring back all but one runner next year, including all-MAC finisher John Wallace, who will be a junior, and Nick D'Angelo, who will be a senior. Toss in Matt Nesmith, who was the 2009 MAC rookie of the year, and Eliott Bonds, who was the team's fifth man as a freshman, and it looks like the cross country teams could have a crack at contending again in 2011.
