PDS Girls' Cross Country Season Opens Today

Merrell Noden believes that if you get a group of kids together who enjoy cross country and are willing to work hard to get better at the sport, you already have a successful season.

"It doesn't matter where they start out, I want them to work hard and lower their times," said Noden, who is beginning his first season as coach at Princeton Day School.

One runner that started out with pretty low times is Abby Sharer, just a sophomore.

"She was the top runner on the team last year and she will be again," said Noden. "She comes from a running family and has a really nice stride. She wants to run in college and takes it very seriously. Sometime before she finishes, I'd love to see her vying for state and county titles."

Noden said PDS also has a nice pack of runners behind Sharer. They are Shannon Towle (senior), Liz Gudgel (sophomore) and Molly Rubin (sophomore).

Towle and Gudgel run a lot with their fathers and Noden figures they will be "consistent scorers for the team."

"Rubin's main sport is basketball, but she is a steady runner," Noden said. "She ran in the summer and came in practicess in good shape."

The other members of the team are Dina Alter (sophomore), Natasha Rao (senior), Jessica Duri-Agri (junior) and Peri Feldtstein (freshman).

PDS will begin its season when it hosts its lone home meet of the season. Stuart Country Day School, George School and the Lewis School will be the opponents.

"I'm still trying to get more runners out, but this is the team we have right now," Noden noted.

There certainly is enough to fulfill Noden's goals for the team.

"My own personal goals for the team are that they learn about the sport and its history," he said. "I want them to enjoy the sport and want to keep doing it the rest of their lives. I also want everyone to improve and enjoy themselves while they are getting better."