By Gabe Smith
Just as the academic year at Bellarmine has begun so have the fall athletic seasons. Some teams are already in action.
Men’s Cross Country
Last season the men’s cross country team fell just short of qualifying for the NCAA championships as it finished sixth at the regional meet. This season the team expects much more. Coach Jim Vargo said he hopes this team, led by two-time All-American Chris Striegel and Great Lakes Valley Conference all-conference runner Nick Christensen, is a team that can make a run at the national championship.
“We will have one of the best, if not the best, cross country teams in school history,” Vargo said.
Streigel is looking to be an All-American for the third straight season and to repeat as GLVC conference champion, but he also has high expectations for the team season.
“The team expectation this year is a top 10 to 15 finish at the NCAA Championships in Evansville, Indiana. We are returning our top seven guys from last season and look to be the best cross-country team ever at Bellarmine,” Streigel said.
With the returning runners and the freshmen class led by Logan Greco, they hope to be in the NCAA championship for the first time since 2010.
Women’s Cross Country
After a disappointing end to last season, coach Angela Musk and her runners are setting the bar high this year as they seek to compete at the NCAA championships in Evansville, Indiana, in November.
“That’s definitely our goal [to qualify] for the NCAAs,” Musk said.
This is a very experienced team with nine seniors on the roster. One of those is Erin Crone, who finished 53rd at the NCAA championships as an individual last year. She and Musk have set the goal high for her this year as she hopes to lead this team to the national championship.
“I think we have a really good shot at qualifying [for the NCAA championship]” Crone said.
This year’s team is very deep, and barring injury, has a great chance to get to its first national championship meet since 2012.
Field Hockey
The BU field hockey team also has high hopes for the season. After a third-place finish in the East Coast Athletic Conference last year, it hopes to gain a conference title this season. There are nine seniors this year who have been instrumental in helping the freshmen make the transition to college-level play.
“Our senior leadership is really strong… They help the girls on the field tremendously with executing the general drills we do in practice,” coach Mark Blankenbaker said.
The Knights have been picked to finish second in the conference but Blankenbaker said he does not put any stock in those rankings.
“I don’t know how anyone comes up with the preseason polls… You lose so many girls from last year… So to predict [rankings at the end of the season]. I don’t know until October,” Blankenbaker said.
Women’s Golf
After a 10th-place finish at the GLVC tournament last season coach Art Henry said he feels like as if team is going to be much improved this year.
“We’ll be better this year… We’ll certainly be in the top half,” Henry said.
Senior Katie Gathoff is going to be a key piece of this Knights golf team. Going into her sinior year, she hopes that this team can improve. The goals, however, are not just for on the golf course, but for in class as well.
“Our team goals for this season are twofold; the first is to advance to regional competition and the second is to have a team GPA of 3.4,“ Gathoff said.
After earning the team academic all-GLVC last season these women are committed to achieving that award again along with new accolades on the golf course.
Women’s Soccer
The BU women’s soccer team is gearing up for another strong campaign this season with coach Chris Tinius. With many new players on the team Tinius said he feels as if it might take some time for this team to come together, but he said he believes that end-of-the-season success is definitely within reach for his team.
“I think we will be better suited on the back end of this season once we get all of the pieces together, but there is no reason to think we can’t compete with the top teams in the league this year,” Tinius said.
With eight new freshmen on the squad, Tinius said that this is a class where everyone has the ability to come in and help the team this season.
“The unique thing about this class is I think that every single
freshmen this year will find a way to help us at some point during the season…
I think depending on the match-up with the opponent, the time of year, what we
need in a certain game, I think they all have ways to make an impact which is
exciting,” Tinius said.
Men’s Soccer
After an early end to the season last year, the BU men’s soccer team is back with hopes that by the end of this campaign it will have secured a berth in the GLVC conference tournament. Coach Tim Chastonay and his team know what it could mean for them to make it into postseason play.
“Our guys are committed to having a winning season. They would like to make the GLVC tournament [because that] gives them the chance to make the NCAA tournament,” Chastonay said.
Senior Nathan Jones said he is excited about his last chance to play in a BU uniform. The Bellarmine men’s soccer team has never been to the NCAA tournament, but Jones said he is very confident that this can be the first team to make it there.
“I expect to be in the top two or three in the league. I want to make it to the championship and I expect us to get that first berth into the NCAA tournament,” Jones said.
Volleyball
The women’s volleyball team is back and ready for action this year with a stout freshmen class that can make an impact from day one, as well as returning All-American Jordyn Kuchenbrod. Coach Jenni Grzebin said that this freshmen class is very strong.
“I love our newcomers… I think one of the most exciting things for me is that if you were just to walk through the gym you might not be able to pick out freshmen out of the group,” Grzebin said.
Kuchenbrod said that she would like to finish her BU career with two straight All-American seasons.
“Coming in my freshmen year I never would have thought I would have a chance to work to get back-to-back All-American awards… It really pushes me to get better,” Kuchenbrod said.