All-American Tasmin Fanning and the Tech men's and women's cross country teams commence their quest for a championship as they begin their 2008 season.
Both teams have an opportunity to fulfill the lofty expectations of 2007 that went unanswered. With Ben Thomas entering his seventh year as skipper and a plethora of returning talent, 2008 has the potential to be another outstanding year for the squad.
"We want to get the team to Nationals; that is our goal," Fanning said. "I want to do my best in the incredibly competitive ACC to help the team get to Nationals."
With team wins at the Virginia Tech Invitational, the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational, the William and Mary Inter-Regional, and an impressive third out of 41 at the Chile Pepper Invitational, the year had to be deemed a success, but the decline in position at NCAA Southeast Regionals -- fifth place -- and the absence of improvement at the ACC Championships -- another fifth-place finish -- ended their year with a somewhat bittersweet aftertaste.
The 2008 outlook is strong at the top end, but depth is a question. The team will return four of eight finishers from the 2007 ACC Championships, but the graduation of top runners Natalie Sherbak and Samantha Ferrence will be difficult to make up for. Losing Sherbak, who was one of three Tech runners to be named to the All-ACC team in 2007, leaves a gaping hole at the top.
Another huge blow was suffered when returning All-ACC runner Kelly Clark decided not to return to the team in 2008. Clark, after an impressive freshman year in 2006, earned her prestigious ACC distinction in 2007 with an outstanding year and a 13th place finish at the ACC Championships. She would have stepped comfortably into fellow All-ACC member Sherbak's shoes, but now leaves a lot of room for some young Hokies to step up and make their mark.
"We are really looking for the freshmen to step up," Fanning said. The cast responsible for this task includes six new faces for the 2008 campaign, along with the four sophomores and three seniors.
These returning seniors will be responsible for leading the young Hokies this year, and they are a very experienced and successful trio. Erin Redden comes back along with sisters Tasmin and Jess Fanning, who hail from Charlottesville. Erin and Jess, consistent starters from 2007, should lead the starting runners behind Tasmin in the upcoming year.
The younger of the Fannings -- Jess is a redshirt senior -- is the impressive and accomplished Tasmin. On top of her All-ACC distinction, Tasmin became only the fourth Hokie runner to ever receive the honor of Women's Athletic All-American, the first since Marlies Overbeeke in 2003.
To sum up Tasmin's incredible 2007: out of the six meets she ran in for Tech, she won the Wake Forest Relays, the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational, and the William and Mary Inter-Regional. She then finished sixth in the prestigious Chile Pepper Invitational, fourth in the ACC Championships, third in the NCAA Southeast Regionals, and topped the whole thing off with 12th out of 255 at NCAA Nationals.
Tasmin also was an NCAA national meet qualifier in the 1,500 meters, and set a new Tech record with a time of 4:17.79.
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