6B
SPORTS
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2004
Runner's goals go beyond cross country course Megan Manthe looks to a future of a 4.0,med school and the NCAA Championships
BY FRIANK TANKAND
ftkandard@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWATER
Megan Manthe balances running on the Kansas women's cross country team with a demanding class schedule. She has maintained a 4.0 grade point average as a biochemistry major and is currently applying to medical schools.
Before Megan Manthe sat down to eat the salad she had prepared, she reached for a stack of medical school applications on a table in the corner of her apartment and carefully pulled one off the top.
"I just clipped my picture onto this one," she said. "I'm about ready to mail it in."
about ready to make a Manteh, the top runner on the Kansas women's cross country team, said she wrote 30 essays for medical school applications last weekend alone, spending as much as 10 hours per day grinding them out.
That's on top of her normal schedule of running 55 miles per week while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average as a biochemistry major.
chemistry major.
"I're really a big nerd," she said. "But as long as I get a day where I can go out every now and then, I stay sane enough."
She is applying to medical schools across the country, including the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Boston University, George Washington and Loyola, among others.
Manthe said she would prefer to attend a school in a part of the country that she hasn't seen much before. That is the same reason she came to the University of Kansas in 2001 from her hometown of Anoka, Minn.
Minn. "If you have the option of going someplace new, you should go for it," she said. "You don't have that many opportunities."
Traveling with the cross country team, Manthe has been all over the Midwest, excelling as much in meets as she has in the classroom. Last year she finished second on the team in the two most important meets of the year, the Big XII Championships and the NCAA Midwest Regional, placing 19th and 38th, respectively.
style, which is to get to the front and stay there as long as she can. At the Bob Timmons Invitational on Sept. 4, that is exactly what she did, breaking out with the lead pack early in the race and hanging on for a third place finish.
Before races, Manthe said she listens to fast-paced music, like rap or techno, to get her blood flowing. When she is at home, though, her musical tastes are tamer. One of her favorites: Yanni.
"I get out, I always have," she said. "You just have to stay at the top as far as you can. You have to go into a race believing you'll do awesome and compete like you want to be the best."
amherst "Yanni rocks," she said. "Anyone who laughs at that hasn't given him a chance."
n given him a crier.
Manthe also believes in a healthy diet, and she ensures that her roommates, including teammate Jenna Bimbi, eat healthy too. As the primary cook for their apartment, she keeps them on a steady regimen of salad and chicken.
"According to Jenna, I make good, healthy meals," she laughed. "I'm their mom and they know it."
they know it. Manthe said when she isn't running, she's usually studying; she wants to maintain her perfect GPA until graduation in the spring.
"I fell in love with cardio this summer," she said, "but it's too early to decide. That'll come when I get into med school."
While Manthe has not decided on what field of medicine to go into, she said a summer internship in the cardiovascular unit of St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., made a big impression on her.
For now, Manthe said she looks forward to returning to Minnesota on Sept. 25 for the team's next meet in Minneapolis. The meet will allow Manthe and her teammates to see how they stack up against some of the fastest collegiate runners in the nation, who she hopes to face again at the NCAA Championships in November. She said competing in the NCAA Championships has been one of her main goals since she first came to Kansas.
Another of Manthe's goals is to lead the Jayhawks to a top six finish at the Big XII Championships in October.
And she'll keep working on medical school applications. Her next step is the dreaded interviewing process.
the goal is to know where I'm going by February," she said, "but we'll see."
- Edited by Ashley Bechard
Megan Manthe runs in the Bob Timmons Invitational at Rim Rock Farm on Sept. 4 in Lawrence. Manthe finished third in the race. Kansan File Photo
Soccer shuts out Rebels, Tigers in pair of victories
BY JASON ELMOUIST
jelmquist@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWINTER
record to 8-1.
Just three days after losing in Champaign, Ill. to the Fighting Illini, Kansas defeated Ole Miss Friday at home, 2-0.
It took the Jayhawks just 25 minutes to get back into an offensive mode after their shutout at Illinois. Senior Rachel Gillfinn scored off of a pass from junior Caroline Smith.
It did not take long for the Kansas women's soccer team to bounce back from its first loss of the season. The Jayhawks recorded two wins over the weekend, improving their overall record to 8-1.
The Jayhawks got off 10 shots in the first period while allowing the Rebels only one.
"It always feels good to score," Gilfillan said of her third goal on the year. "My dad came for a
that.
On the defensive side, senior goalkeeper Meghan Miller did not see much action.
"Our game plan was to get the ball up to our forwards and lay it back to midfield players coming through, because we felt like there would be some space in front of that ball to play in," said coach Mark Francis. "Up front, I thought we did a very good job of that."
one-day trip to see probably the only game of the season. So it felt really good just to put it away."
rally good just to put it out. In the second period, Smith was on the receiving end of an Amy Geha pass in the 83rd minute to get the team's second goal of the game.
not see much action.
The Rebels only got off five shots all game, and Miller only
goal of the game.
The goals by Gilfillan and Smith put them in a tie with sophomore Nicole Cauzillo for the most goals scored so far this season.
The Jayhawks traveled to Auburn, Ala. yesterday to face the No. 26 Tigers.
"Our fitness was a factor toward the end of the game," Francis said. "You could tell that we were more fit than they were. So that was definitely a positive that I saw. Any time you can go on the road and beat a good team it is a great win."
The Jayhawks triumphed in double overtime, 1-0. Sophomore Holly Gault ended the match with a diving header off a pass from senior Monica Brothers 2.34 into the second overtime.
"I thought it was a pretty solid performance," Francis said. "I thought defensively we did very well. Anytime they did try and attack, I thought our defensive back four were very solid."
The nine saves by Miller were a career-high and gave her seven shutouts for the season.
Miller has allowed only two goals in more than 800 minutes this season, giving her a .22 goals allowed average, nearly one and a half better than the average for the Jayhawks' opponents. Kansas' 8-1 start matches last year's team record for the best start heading into conference play.
"This was our first overtime match of the season and to be able to win the game in that fashion was definitely big." Francis said. "This is a big win for us heading into next weekend."
heading into next weekend Next weekend the team will begin its conference schedule and face two Big 12 teams at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex on Friday and Sunday.
It plays Nebraska at 5 p.m. Friday. Defending Big 12 champion Colorado follows on Sunday at 1 p.m.
- Edited by Ashley Bechard
Lauren Williams, senior midfielder, dribbles the ball past Mississippi senior midfielder Kristal Menard on Friday at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex. Kansas defeated Ole Miss 2-0, improving its record to 7-1.
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