Event Group Preview: Distance/Steeple

The story for the women’s distance corps begins with the obvious, as Big South Conference Cross Country Champion Hannah Granger returns to lead the team this season. One of the squad’s tri-captains, Granger is also the defending BSC  champ in the 10K, winning the event at last year’s outdoor championships to become VMI’s first female conference champion in a running event. The junior holds six track and field records, is a four-time T&F All-Conference honoree and will be a conference title contender in several events this season, both indoor and outdoor. Jenna Moye, 2009 Big South Cross Country Freshman of the Year, will be Granger’s sidekick this year.

For the past several years, the Keydet men have consistently been a threat in the distance events, and this year should be no exception. VMI returns all-conference steeplechaser Matt Sagar, who was third in the event last year, as well as Ermin Mujezinovic, who sat out the 2009 outdoor season. Team tri-captain Matt Satterwhite will provide support as well, along with a talented cast of freshmen that includes Booth Hornsby and Chris Wunsch. Finally, Noah Hagos showed a good deal of improvement during the cross country season, and should be a key role player in the 5K and 10K distances at the conference level.