The quest to return to the Division III National Championship has already begun for Head Coach Bill Ware and his 2009 women’s cross country team. The team is attempting to make its 10th consecutive appearance at nationals, held at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, this year.

Led by senior captains Amanda Boccio and Bridget Hastings, the Bombers are eager to begin the 2009 season, which kicks off Saturday at the annual Janette Bonrouhi-Zakaim Memorial Alumni Run on the cross country course behind the Terraces.

The Bombers are coming off a season in which the team captured both the Empire 8 title and a 29th-place finish at the national championship. The Blue and Gold return with most of their star runners, but have lost one key member: Lindsey Nadolski ’09.

Hastings said the departure of the All-American will undoubtedly hurt the team.  

“Even though Lindsey was a powerful force coming into each meet, I know that our team this year will have depth, and that will help us immensely,” Hastings said.

The team has already begun to fill the void left by Nadolski, as the upperclassmen and newcomers have shown signs of stepping up.  

“It’s still early in the season, but it looks as if we are going to have a strong team,” Boccio said.

Ranked sixth in the Atlantic region and 34th nationally in the preseason polls, the Blue and Gold head into the season full of high expectations. At the top of the list is a return trip to nationals, which would set a college record with the team’s 10th consecutive trip.    

But before they can make it to nationals, they will have to do well in the state, conference and regional meets set ahead on the schedule. The Bombers will run in seven invitationals before they take to the starting line at the New York State Collegiate Track Conference Championships in Rochester, N.Y., on Oct. 24.

The first strides toward a run at the national championship are now behind them, as every member of the Blue and Gold now sets her eyes on getting to the starting line come that cold November day in Ohio, senior Melanie McCormick said.

“We’re looking forward to the season, as we have so much talent on the team, even after losing three seniors from last year,” McCormick said. “We definitely are aiming for nationals again, and with the returners plus the freshmen, we can definitely make it happen.”