Rossbach earns trip to Nationals with 3rd-place Regional showing
By Jesse Newell
Monday, November 6, 2006
WARRENSBURG, Mo. — Jonel Rossbach had just finished the race, and her mind was already far, far away.
Though the sun was blocked by clouds and a bitter Midwest wind blew in her face, the Emporia State junior was already running her next race in her head.
“The 40-degree weather here is a little rough,” Rossbach said. “I’m pretty sure Florida is 70s and sunny. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
The junior won’t have to imagine in two week’s time.
Needing a top-five finish to guarantee herself a spot at Nationals, Rossbach delivered on Saturday, crossing the finish line in third at the NCAA South Central Regional.
The performance earns her a flight to Pensacola, Fla., for the NCAA Division II National Championships on Nov. 18.
“It feels great,” Rossbach said. “I got done, and the first thing (Truman’s) Jacquie Faust said to me was, ‘See you in Florida.’”
Though she perhaps got out to a faster start than she wanted, Rossbach managed to keep herself in third place for most of the race after Faust and Southwest Oklahoma’s Rachel Ingram passed her.
The Hornets’ time of 22:03.20 was a comfortable three seconds ahead of fourth-place Olha Kryv’yak from Abilene Christian.
“She didn’t quite carry out the race plan that we wanted or it might have been different at the end,” ESU coach Dave Harris said. “The main thing is that she is in the top five. She knew that if she stayed in the top five, she was going to Nationals.”
Rossbach became the first ESU athlete to earn a spot to Nationals since Kadri Kelve in 2001. Kelve went on to be an All-American that year.
Rossbach improved from her 17th-place finish in Regionals a year ago, a progression Harris credited to hard work in the offseason.
“She really hadn’t committed that time in the summer to being the best cross country runner she could be,” Harris said. “The talent she has and the work ethic, it’s coming together now.”
Rossbach also had her teammates to thank for the trip. Just a few weeks before the season, multiple walk-ons joined the cross country squad to give the ESU women a full team.
Without that full complement of runners, Rossbach would not have been able to qualify for Nationals.
The ESU women finished 12th out of 19 teams, with Krysta Fennewald also cracking the top 25 with a 21st-place showing.
On the men’s side, ESU bounced back from a last-place performance at the MIAA Championships two weeks ago to finish 10th out of 17 teams.
Skyler Delmott had the top Hornet time, finishing with a 33:24.70 that earned him 28th.
Shea Camien (44th), Michael Stephens (49th) and Brock Ternes (52nd) all finished within 30 seconds to contribute to the team score.
“I think it’s probably a springboard to next year,” Harris said. “These guys are walking off this course today a lot more optimistic and positive than they were two weeks ago. I’m happy for them. I think they needed something like this.”
As for Rossbach, Harris said he was confident that she would be prepared for her next race — one that would come under the Florida sun.
“It’s quite an achievement for her as a junior to be there and really have a chance to do something,” Harris said. “I think she will go in with the same mindset that she’s had over the last three or four weeks.”