Anthony bolsters women’s cross country team

Clemson’s Natalie Anthony helps the Lady Tigers to win the Clemson Invitational. Photo by Rex Brown.

By Philip Sikes

CLEMSON – Coming into the 2011 season, the biggest question mark on the women’s cross country team centered on who would solidify the lineup as the No. 3 runner behind established veterans Alyssa Kulik and Kim Ruck.  Two races into the young season, the Tigers may have found in answer in sophomore Natalie Anthony.

Anthony didn’t surprise too many by leading a partial Tiger squad in the Eye Opener meet to start the season on Sept. 2 in Spartanburg.  But, she sure turned heads following a seventh-place effort on Friday at the team’s second meet, the Clemson Invitational.

[Read more...]

Cross Country’s Scott Stanley

Clemson's Scott Stanley. Photo by Rex Brown.

How would you evaluate your first race?

“I didn’t really know what to expect going into the first race, I just wanted to go out, compete, and get an honest benchmark time to use to evaluate my future races this season. With that said I also wanted to be top three on the team and top ten in the race, both of which I did, so that was good. Overall, it was a good experience and I think it was a good start to what hopefully is a great season.”

—compiled by Danielle Lester

Cross Country’s Kate Borowicz

We ask student-athletes somewhere between 10-20 questions each week to find out what they are like off the playing fields at Clemson.

What are your nicknames?
Kate, KB, Borowicz, Katerooski

Describe yourself in three words.
Passionate, blunt, and laid-back

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Cross Country: Ty McCormack

Clemson cross country runner Ty McCormack. Photo by Rex Brown.

How do you feel about the upcoming season and what are your expectations for yourself and the team?

“I’m very excited about the upcoming season. We have another young team, but this year the majority of the runners have at least one year of college running under their belt. We will definitely be a team to surprise people and begin to establish Clemson as one of the best distance programs in the nation. As for goals, I think our team goal is to place in the top 6 at ACC and have a good showing at our national meets, Notre Dame Invite, Wisconsin Invite, NCAA Regionals. We’ll gain a lot of experience this year, and if everything goes right we may be running at the NCAA Championships in November. Individually, I would like to at least place in the top 5 at the ACCs in Clemson, and maybe win it. Individually I would like to qualify for nationals.”

—compiled by Danielle Lester

Read More Since you Asked…

Kulik prepared for final season

Clemson cross country runner Alyssa Kulik prepares for her final season as a Tiger. Photo by Rex Brown.

Clemson cross country runner Alyssa Kulik is looking to have a big year. Photo by Rex Brown

By Philip Sikes

CLEMSON — The competition season for a cross country and track runner is perhaps the longest of any varsity sport in the entire realm of intercollegiate athletics.  Alyssa Kulik knows that all too well.

Her 2011 outdoor track season did not come to a complete finish until June 24 at the USA Championships in Eugene, OR. Instead of staying home in nearby Simpsonville and relaxing for the summer, she immediately went back to work as part of a study abroad program.

“I was in Salamanca, Spain for six weeks for my second study abroad program,” said Kulik, a modern languages major at Clemson.  “It’s basically a college town. I could walk anywhere, so it had a nice feel. There was a nice running path along the (Tormes) river, and it went out into the countryside, so it was perfect.”

Kulik was not perfect on the track in 2011, but she was pretty close. She elevated her performance to levels never before seen in a Clemson women’s uniform. Kulik became the first female to compete at the NCAA Championships, earn All-America honors, and earn All-ACC honors in the 3000-meter steeplechase. She also won the event at the prestigious Penn Relays.

[Read more...]

Cross Country runner Kim Ruck

Clemson cross country runner Kim Ruck. Photo by Rex Brown.

How much has the cross country program been elevated since you first came here?

I came on the team three years ago, because I walked on my sophomore year. I’m about to be a fifth-year senior. When I first came on the team, we had a different coach for cross country, and it was the head track and field coach, Lawrence Johnson, in the first year coaching in his position. As an athletic freshman, we did workouts and ran mileage, but the motivation and enthusiasm to get better was not there. It wasn’t until our new coach, Brad Herbster, came into the picture my athletic sophomore year that the tables began to turn. Instead of sending us out to run for X amount of minutes, we were running X amount of miles at a faster pace. He taught us the importance of stretching, doing drills, sleeping, eating, weight training, ice bathing and so much more. These are things our team had never been exposed to or took seriously.
I would say that the cross country program has been significantly elevated since then, thanks mostly to our Coach, Brad Herbster. He pushes us to do our best and to always get better. He gets to know his team on a personal level and finds out what works for each athlete. This should be encouraging for future athletes that come through our program. Just because the team might lose strong runners, it’s reassuring to know that they are a product of a good coach and a coach that will make great runners out of the good runners coming from high school.

– Danielle Lester

Cross Country athletes named academic All-ACC

Cross Country atheletes named All-ACC Academic. Photo by Rex Brown.

Courtesy of Clemsontigers.com

CLEMSON — Three members of the Clemson cross country program were named to the men’s and women’s All-ACC Academic Teams on Wednesday, as announced by the conference office. Ty McCormack was named to the men’s team, while Alyssa Kulik and Kim Ruck earned the honor on the women’s side. This is the second honor in as many weeks for Kulik and Ruck, who were named USTFCCCA All-Academic last week. [Read more...]

Kulik, Ruck named All-Academic

Clemson's Kim Ruck. Photo by Rex Brown.

Courtesy of Clemsontigers.com

CLEMSON — Alyssa Kulik and Kim Ruck of Clemson have been named to the All-Academic Team for cross country by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the organization announced Tuesday. Both runners were also members of the All-Southeast Region Team this past fall in cross country. [Read more...]

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