Rolle Leads Surging XC Squad
9/13/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - Seton Hall women's cross country captain Hughnique Rolle (Nassau, Bahamas) knows it takes a different type of athlete to be a successful distance runner.
"Since cross country became its own program, we have typically had a team of track athletes trying to adapt to running for distance," said Rolle, a senior in her fourth year competing for the Pirates. "I think where the program has developed is we now have a roster full of people with a lot of cross country experience. That, in addition to an improved workout plan with an added focus on endurance has allowed us to improve our results so far this year."
Rolle has been the preeminent figure in the team's turnaround thus far. She started the season by coming across in fifth at the Monmouth XC Kick-Off and for an encore, picked up her first career individual win by gliding past a field of 35 other Division I runners at the Hofstra Brick Stone Run. The Nassau native completed the 5K course in 19:15.85, surpassing her closest competitor by nearly 10 seconds. Dating back to last year, Rolle has now been the Pirates' top finisher in their last four meets.
Through the first two meets of the 2012 season, the Seton Hall cross country squad has put the region on notice that they are not a team to be overlooked. Boasting what may be its deepest lineup ever; SHU has picked up a pair of second place team finishes on the women's side, the highest the team has placed in program history.
The effort has been aided by continued strong performances by sophomore Mary Migton (Ledgewood, N.J.) and junior Nyala Eddings (Chicago, Ill.). Migton has finished in the top-two on the team in all 11 of her collegiate races while Eddings has been a top-three performer for The Hall in 10 of the last 11 meets.
Also adding to the surge has been the instant influence from impact freshmen Amanda Quaglia (Reading, Pa.) and Alex Ryan (Aurora, Colo.). Both Quaglia and Ryan have scored for the team in their first two appearances in blue and white, but their influence, along with that of a vastly improved lineup has extended beyond the confines of the time leader board.
"The incoming freshmen have had a huge impact on our team this year," praised Rolle. "The more people you can bring in that are well-versed cross country runners, the stronger you are going to be. This year we have more people to run off, and feed off, and I think that has motivated the entire team to consistently work hard and go out and perform their best."
The influx of new talent and an increase of internal competition has paid immediate dividends for the team as a whole. At the Hofstra Brick Stone Run, Rolle led the way as four Seton Hall women placed in the top-10 individually and the Pirates fell just one point shy of edging BIG EAST foe St. John's for the team victory.
"It felt great to win," Rolle added. "It was our first time at that course so I didn't really know what to expect. My main goal going in was for us to beat St. John's. We knew we had a good chance to do that if we ran hard but unfortunately we came up just short. I was in the lead for most of the race but at the two-mile point a girl from St. John's caught up. I kind of sat back with her, then put an extra kick in when we hit the 4,000 meter mark to make sure I got the win because we know every point counts. I was happy but at the same time disappointed because we really wanted to beat them as a team. It's okay though, we'll get them at the BIG EAST Championship."
