West Deptford Girls' Cross-Country: Youth Reigns

Like many teams in the Colonial Conference, the girls cross-country squad is not mighty in terms of numbers.

However, by season’s end, head coach Bob Cooper is hoping his small team will have produced big results.

West Deptford enters the fall season with eight girls ranging in experience. There is experienced talent at the top and a host of youth at the bottom. Cooper hopes that it all comes together to produce a winning season.

“You always want to be in the top three in the conference,” Cooper said. “You put Haddonfield at the top and then I always like to compete against Haddon Heights and Haddon Township. Usually if you can compete against them, your team is going in the right direction.”

Even with a small roster, Cooper sees enough talent for the squad to surpass its win total of four a year ago. It all starts in the front where Millie Kipp should consistently deliver first place finishes in conference meets.

“I think she should do really well in our conference meets,” Cooper said. “She should do well at sectionals and all of our big meets.”

Behind Kipp will be senior Samantha Budd. As a sophomore, Budd emerged as one of the top runners on the team, but an injury set her way back and she spent much of her junior season trying to get back up to speed. While her times are not yet up to her peak performance, she is getting close.

The girls will see their first regular season action September 13 in a tri-meet with Gateway and Paulsboro.

2011 Girls' Cross-Country Team

Coach: Bob Cooper

Last year: 4-5 Returning letter winners: Millie Kipp (jr.); Samantha Budd (sr.); Diana Benito (sr.).

Promising newcomers: Gabby Klotz (so.); Kierston Cooper (fr.); Mackenzie Thayres (fr.); Michelle Abdelmessih (fr.); Elliana Angelastro (fr.).

Team to beat: Haddonfield.

Expectations: With just three returning runners, wins may be difficult to come by early in the season, but with Kipp likely to dominate the conference, West Deptford could be over the .500 mark by season’s end.

Three storylines to follow:

–Even though not all of them will be major factors this season, Cooper is thrilled to have four freshmen who he believes will stick with the program. This season, the group will serve as valuable depth, and a couple of the girls could score fourth and fifth place points, but the real value will be in the experience the girls gain. “It’s good having some young kids,” Cooper said. “The last eight or nine years I didn’t have any young kids, I just had a couple of sophomores and juniors."

–How far will Kipp go? During the spring Kipp excelled in the 1600 and 3200 races during the regular season and had a strong showing at sectionals. And she says she likes cross-country even better. Kipp is the unquestioned leader of the pack and should be a shoe-in to qualify for sectionals, and may even work her way to states.

–Can the Eagles get off to a quick start? The early calendar is favorable for the Eagles, with a sweepable meet against Gateway and Paulsboro to start things off. Given the team’s inexperience, it is hard to ask for a better way to start the season. On the flipside, if the Eagles struggle early, it will be difficult to make up ground with tougher opponents coming later in the season.