Courtesy Alison Wade/New York Road Runners Junior Franklyn Sanchez and the Hoyas look to improve on last year’s 15th place finish at the NCAA Championships.

When forced to compete last season without four of its top runners, the Georgetown men’s cross country team turned in a gutsy 15th place finish at the national championships. With a little more luck this season, 2002 could be a year of phenomenal success for the Hoyas.

“Anyone would consider finishing in 15th place with all your runners to be a good year,” Assistant Coach Patrick Henner said. “Without four runners who we thought could be in our top seven, we thought that was a very nice accomplishment. We basically have everybody back this year plus [senior] Mike Smith, [sophomore] Charlie Millioen and the incoming freshmen, so we’re very, very excited about this season.”

“We have everything we need in place to become one of the best teams Georgetown has ever had,” senior tri-captain Chris iltenberg said. “We have great coaching, great leadership in [senior] Mike Smith and [senior] Javon Broderick and a group of some of the toughest guys I have ever seen.”

Last year’s team overcame a multitude of challenges, including the graduation of talented top runners, the loss of an on-campus practice facility and injuries to members of the returning team. As a result, the lineup that competed at nationals was drastically different than was originally anticipated.

Beyond Miltenberg, the team looked to a pair of freshmen – Rod Koborsi and Chris Esselborn – to carry the load. And the freshmen responded.

Koborsi finished as the fifth-fastest freshman at nationals, and he consistently paced the Georgetown team throughout the season.

Esselborn similarly displayed enormous talent, placing third for the team at nationals and earning All-Region honors for a 13th place finish at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals.

“Last year the freshmen stepped up and made a huge impact on the team,” junior Franklyn Sanchez said. “It was a huge team, and this year it’ll be extremely hard to just make the top seven with all the talented guys we have coming back.”

While Koborsi and Esselborn are the team’s top young talents, they will be supported by a group of experienced and accomplished leaders.

Tri-captains Chris Miltenberg, Mike Smith and Javon Broderick have all experienced success at the national level, and seniors Dylan Welsh, Dan Tebbano and Ethan Kearns round out Georgetown’s group of skilled veterans.

“Whenever [the upperclassmen] have anything to say, everyone picks their heads up and listens,” Koborsi said. “A lot of them have gone through some hard times in the past, and they know what they need to do to help the team. Their leadership has changed the way a lot of people think.”

Broderick, the team’s fourth finisher at nationals last year, has made extensive progress over the off-season, and is expected to be one of the team’s key contributors in 2002.

“Javon Broderick ran for us last year without really training because of a hip problem,” Henner said. “But he has been healthy consistently since then, and has made some huge jumps in outdoor track.”

Also looking to make an impact is senior Mike Smith, who placed ninth at pre-nationals in 2000, but redshirted the 2001 season.

“Mike has run at a very high level for us consistently,” Henner said. “As long as he keeps himself under control, he should have a great season.”

Other likely contributors this season will include sophomore Charlie Millioen, who redshirted the 2001 season alongside Smith, and freshmen Fleet Hower, Tim Errickson and Chris Lukezic.

“I don’t see a specific frontrunner, but we’re a tight group and have a lot of depth,” Smith said. “We’ll have to wait and see who fills all the spots.”

While the program isn’t short on talent, escaping misfortune may still pose the most daunting challenge to the team. The injury bug seems to have bitten again, and the team is hoping that its depth will be enough to counter any problems associated with holes in the lineup as a result of injuries.

“We may not have two of our better runners this year,” Henner said. “Chris Miltenberg and [junior] Franklyn Sanchez are both going to be day to day with some injuries. Chris is healthy and starting to run now, but Franklyn is still trying to get his problem figured out with his knee. But at the same time, this is a team who can, even without them, have a chance at finishing in the top-10 in the nation or better.”

“It’s good to have guys who have been in it before, like Franklyn and Milt, but I think in these situations, you can’t focus on that because you can’t change it,” Welsh said. “You can’t change the fact that Milt and Franklyn are out, you just need to focus on the people that we do have. And the people that we do have are outstanding.”

“If anything, it’s a wake-up call for people,” Broderick said. “People know they can’t get hurt now because we can’t afford to have any more injuries.”

No matter who ultimately ends up on the line on Nov. 25 at nationals, both coaches and teammates alike view the upcoming season with similarly high expectations.

“This team is made up of some very consistent racers,” Henner said. “That’s why I have a lot of confidence that this team will be very good at the end of the season.”

“I just want to be part of what I know will happen,” Smith said. “If I do my job, I’ll be a piece of the machine, and if others do theirs, this team can accomplish some great things.”