Posted September 8, 2009

Tom Antczak has been the UW-Platteville head men's and women's cross country coach since 1992, and during that span has coached 17 NCAA III all-Americans and directed six teams to the national championships. He discuses the 2009 season with Sports Information Director Paul Erickson.

Let's start with the men. Last year there was a lot of talk about "next year." Now next year is here. Do you still have the same optimism?

"Yes, I think we do. Our team did a really good job training over the summer, and they came into camp in very good shape. We set our goal up at Pigeon Lake, and the men said they wanted to shoot for the top 10, targeting eighth place. Ironically, the preseason poll came out, and we were eighth. I don't know if that's a good omen or a bad one, but right now, everyone seems to think we can be eighth. We'll see what happens as the weeks go by."

What makes the men so strong?

"We have a lot of depth, more depth this year than we ever have, which means we can take a little bit more risks in training and push a little harder. When you have a lot of guys pushing for those top seven spots, everyone is pushing a little harder, and it's not so clear cut. Everybody has to be a little more dilligent because the guy behind him is RIGHT behind him, so if someone slips 10-15 seconds in a meet, he might not be in the top spots and on the conference and regional team. Everybody's feet are to the fire a little more and are taking care of things seriously."

Who are some of the guys standing out right now?

"Our top two right now are Nathan Petesch and Jason Garvens. They both provisionally qualified (for NCAA III nationals) in the 5,000 last spring and missed going to the national meet by a few seconds. I always look at the 5,000 as one of the better predictors of the following cross country season...They are definitely all-American material and one of the stronger 1-2 punches we've had since 2000 when we had Justin Wells and Mike Schmitz. Both were all-American and top 25 kids, and our team finished 10th. Shane Lacy looks like he had a really good summer, and should be much better than as a freshman. That's usually when you see a lot of improvement, from freshman to sophomore year. And like I said, I have another seven, eight, nine guys fighting to get into those top seven spots. I'm very pleased with the shape they came into the season and hopefully the depth we have will carry through and keep everyone focused."

How do the women look so far?

"We lost Jessica Scott, and she will be hard to replace. She was 12th in the nation last year and third in the conference meet. We have a fair amount of talent on the women's side, and based on the results of our alumni meet, they came in better shape than I expected. Are we going to compete for a conference championship or national berth? It's a little bit early to say. The conference has four teams who are all ranked ahead of us in the region and in the top 20 nationally, and we're ninth in the region. If we finish in the top half of the conference, wer're doing pretty darn good."

Is there a clear-cut order for the women right now?

"We definitely have a top five who are a couple of steps ahead of everyone. The Tank sisters, Alli and Ann, Molly Springer, Eileen McGuine, and Lacey Curtis are running real well. They are all potentially all-conference runners, and in fact, Eileen and Alli have been; Ann hasn't been she was all-Midwest Region and qualified for the 800 nationals in the spring; Lacey ran in the conference meet last year; and Molly is in the best shape I've ever seen her. Other than the Tank sisters, they others are seniors. We haven't raced against any outside competition, but it seems like we have a really solid top five. And we'll see who else steps up."