It is a sure bet that as the Minnesota women's cross country team heads into the 2003 season, each and every Golden Gopher will be reminded to pay attention to the little things. The little things? Yes, the little things. But these little things are what will build upon each other to determine the success of the 2003 campaign.

"What happens many times with a team is that it gets so focused at looking at the horizon and the goals that are way out there, like Big Tens, regionals or nationals, it trips over the stone right in front of it," explains Golden Gopher head coach Gary Wilson. "If our team works within our zone of discipline and does everything it needs to do every single day, from sleep, to nutrition, to training" everything that's part of the whole formula of success - if it does the little things every day then the final outcome will take care of itself. This is very important to our team this season."

Looking ahead, the ultimate goal for this squad is to make a return trip to the NCAA Championships. The Golden Gophers made five consecutive appearances at the national meet before missing the cut last season. Injury was a key factor, as three runners who were projected to be among the team's top seven missed the entire season with injuries.

"We fully expect to get back to nationals this fall," said Wilson, who enters his 19th season at Minnesota. "Last year was a blip on the radar screen."

Wilson has the talent and depth on his squad to back up this prediction. If any positive can be taken from a past season decimated by injuries, it is that others had to step up and received valuable experience in the process. The Golden Gophers return 11 letterwinners this season.

The Gophers often ran with three true freshmen in their lineup in 2002. Every runner who contributed a scoring effort, except for a fifth-place finisher in the season-opener, returns this season. Senior Darja Vasiljeva is the Gophers' top returner. Vasiljeva was the number-one Minnesota finisher in every meet in 2002 and individually, she ran in her third NCAA Championships race. The best performance of her career could very well have come in the NCAA Midwest Regional where she garnered All-Region honors with a fifth-place finish in the fastest 6-kiolometer time (20:49.77) in school history. She also posted a third-place showing at the Big Ten Championships to collect first-team All-Big Ten accord.

The Gophers' number-two and three runners last season alternated between a pair of true freshmen, now sophomores, Carly Emil and Jen Hess. After making immediate impacts on the team last season, Emil and Hess were honored by their teammates as Co-Rookies of the Year. With a year of experience to build on, watch for these talented harriers to play bigger roles in 2003.

Seniors Laura Bjork and Anita Menden both hope to forget about last season and return to the same level of competition in which they excelled in 2001. Bjork earned All-Region honors as a sophomore but struggled with a respiratory illness especially in the championships portion of her junior season in 2002. Menden, who was a member of the Gophers' NCAA team in 1999, 2000 and 2001, redshirted last season to recover from a foot injury that required surgery. Bjork and Menden will be joined by junior Sarah Heser as team captains in 2003.

The return of a healthy Menden is crucial to the Gophers' outlook for the season. She is the type of team leader who contributes as much on the course as off of it.

"A big key is Anita Menden and making sure she stays healthy," said Wilson. "When she was unable to go last year, we really missed not only her running talents, but her leadership skills. She's very important to the success of this team this season."

Hesser is among a group of veterans that showed vast improvement as last season progressed and will be in a heated battle to capture a top-seven spot on the team this season. Others who will be pushing for those positions are letterwinners: Krista Anderson, Paula Hoffert, Kim Magee, Zoe Nagell and Lauren Williams. All have the potential to step up, the question to be answered is who will do it consistently and with authority.

"There will be one or two of those athletes who will step up and make an impact," said Wilson. "Our depth makes us an intriguing team to start the season."

In addition to Menden, redshirt freshman Emily Brown is an impact runner who missed the 2002 season but is healthy and chomping on the bit to begin her collegiate career. Brown, the 2001 Wisconsin cross country state high school runner-up, missed last season with a foot injury.

With a large sophomore class that numbers 11, Wilson brought in a small freshman class of just four student-athletes: Katrina Rundhaug, Stacia Kalanoski, JoEllen Arons and Jena Trask.

"This will be a team with a lot of interchangeable parts," added Wilson. "The battle for the top-seven spots will be fierce, but it's these battles that will make our team better."

2003 Season Preview
Gophers Look for a Return to NCAAs

It is a sure bet that as the Minnesota women's cross country team heads into the 2003 season, each and every Golden Gopher will be reminded to pay attention to the little things. The little things? Yes, the little things. But these little things are what will build upon each other to determine the success of the 2003 campaign.

"What happens many times with a team is that it gets so focused at looking at the horizon and the goals that are way out there, like Big Tens, regionals or nationals, it trips over the stone right in front of it," explains Golden Gopher head coach Gary Wilson. "If our team works within our zone of discipline and does everything it needs to do every single day, from sleep, to nutrition, to training" everything that's part of the whole formula of success - if it does the little things every day then the final outcome will take care of itself. This is very important to our team this season."

Looking ahead, the ultimate goal for this squad is to make a return trip to the NCAA Championships. The Golden Gophers made five consecutive appearances at the national meet before missing the cut last season. Injury was a key factor, as three runners who were projected to be among the team's top seven missed the entire season with injuries.

"We fully expect to get back to nationals this fall," said Wilson, who enters his 19th season at Minnesota. "Last year was a blip on the radar screen."

Wilson has the talent and depth on his squad to back up this prediction. If any positive can be taken from a past season decimated by injuries, it is that others had to step up and received valuable experience in the process. The Golden Gophers return 11 letterwinners this season.

The Gophers often ran with three true freshmen in their lineup in 2002. Every runner who contributed a scoring effort, except for a fifth-place finisher in the season-opener, returns this season. Senior Darja Vasiljeva is the Gophers' top returner. Vasiljeva was the number-one Minnesota finisher in every meet in 2002 and individually, she ran in her third NCAA Championships race. The best performance of her career could very well have come in the NCAA Midwest Regional where she garnered All-Region honors with a fifth-place finish in the fastest 6-kiolometer time (20:49.77) in school history. She also posted a third-place showing at the Big Ten Championships to collect first-team All-Big Ten accord.

The Gophers' number-two and three runners last season alternated between a pair of true freshmen, now sophomores, Carly Emil and Jen Hess. After making immediate impacts on the team last season, Emil and Hess were honored by their teammates as Co-Rookies of the Year. With a year of experience to build on, watch for these talented harriers to play bigger roles in 2003.

Seniors Laura Bjork and Anita Menden both hope to forget about last season and return to the same level of competition in which they excelled in 2001. Bjork earned All-Region honors as a sophomore but struggled with a respiratory illness especially in the championships portion of her junior season in 2002. Menden, who was a member of the Gophers' NCAA team in 1999, 2000 and 2001, redshirted last season to recover from a foot injury that required surgery. Bjork and Menden will be joined by junior Sarah Heser as team captains in 2003.

The return of a healthy Menden is crucial to the Gophers' outlook for the season. She is the type of team leader who contributes as much on the course as off of it.

"A big key is Anita Menden and making sure she stays healthy," said Wilson. "When she was unable to go last year, we really missed not only her running talents, but her leadership skills. She's very important to the success of this team this season."

Hesser is among a group of veterans that showed vast improvement as last season progressed and will be in a heated battle to capture a top-seven spot on the team this season. Others who will be pushing for those positions are letterwinners: Krista Anderson, Paula Hoffert, Kim Magee, Zoe Nagell and Lauren Williams. All have the potential to step up, the question to be answered is who will do it consistently and with authority.

"There will be one or two of those athletes who will step up and make an impact," said Wilson. "Our depth makes us an intriguing team to start the season."

In addition to Menden, redshirt freshman Emily Brown is an impact runner who missed the 2002 season but is healthy and chomping on the bit to begin her collegiate career. Brown, the 2001 Wisconsin cross country state high school runner-up, missed last season with a foot injury.

With a large sophomore class that numbers 11, Wilson brought in a small freshman class of just four student-athletes: Katrina Rundhaug, Stacia Kalanoski, JoEllen Arons and Jena Trask.

"This will be a team with a lot of interchangeable parts," added Wilson. "The battle for the top-seven spots will be fierce, but it's these battles that will make our team better."