Cross Country (Men's and Women's)
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The men and women's cross country teams began in 1991 under head coach Joe Zito. Competing in the Atlantic 10 Conference, the first men's cross country team was seventh, followed in 1992 with a fifth place finish. Both men and women placed first at two invitationals apiece in 1992. These included the Montgomery Invitational and the Firebird Invitational hosted by GW on its home course at Fort DuPont Park. Also in 1992, each team bettered its finish from the previous year at the Atlantic 10 championship held at renowned Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.
Jim Hopkins was head coach of the George Washington University Men's and Women's Cross Country teams through the 2000/01 season. At the 1998 Atlantic 10 Championships, Hopkins guided his teams to a ninth-place finish. The Colonial men took second place at the La Salle Invitational and a fourth place finish at the GW Invitational. The Colonial women placed fourth at the La Salle Invitational and finished 15th at the ECAC-IC4A Championships.
Deb Hasfurther became head coach for the George Washington University men's and women's cross country teams after serving as an assistant coach since September, 1998. As an assistant coach, Hasfurther's primary responsibilities included training, scheduling, recruiting and making travel arrangements. Prior to becoming a full-time assistant coach at GW, Hasfurther was a volunteer assistant for the GW cross country team, as well as GW's track and field club team from 1997-1998.
(From the website, 2007): [1]
Brian Beil is in his fourth season as head men's and women's cross country coach at The George Washington University. Beil returned to GW in 2004 to lead the program after serving as an assistant on the Colonials' staff from 2001-02. In his three seasons at the helm, Beil's leadership has been seen not just on the running trails throughout DC, but in the classroom as well. While at GW, Beil's squads have combined for seven first-place team finishes, and 26 athletes have combined for 46 commissioner's honor roll certificates. Additionally, Beil has helped two runners earn Academic All-Conference honors.
While just in his third season, a pair of long-standing GW records were set under Beil's guidance. In a first place team finish at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational, Audrey Noonan won the individual title in a GW record, 18:14.8. The following week Noonan finished seventh at the Atlantic 10 Championship in a school-record, 18:19.2. Under Beil's direction, Noonan became the first All-Conference performer at GW since 1996 and also received Academic All-Conference honors.
While an assistant at GW, Beil helped lead the men's team to consecutive top five finishes at the Atlantic 10 Championship, their highest finishes since 1994. Beil's athletes also excelled in the classroom as eight members of the men's team and 20 members of the women's team combined to earn 40 A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll accolades during his two-year stint.
See the GW Sports Page for Cross Country (2007): [2]
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Author or Source: University Archives subject files; Cross Country web site (2007) [3]
Document Location: University Archives
Date Added to Encyclopedia: December 21, 2006
Prepared by: G. David Anderson, University Archivist and Historian
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