MU Cross Country Announces 2020 Recruiting Class
7/20/2020 2:48:00 PM | Cross Country
Three men and two women join MUXC this fall
MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University cross country team, under the direction of head coach Sean Birren, has announced five new additions ahead of the 2020 season.
"I'm so excited to welcome these five men and women to the Marquette cross country family," head coach Sean Birren said. "Over the last five years I've seen many young men and women come on board, train hard, and make great strides to become important parts of our distance programs on and off the playing field. I expect the very same and more from this freshman class."
This year's class of recruits showcases three recruits from Illinois and one each from Texas and Wisconsin. They will all compete in mid-to-long distance races on the indoor and outdoor track & field teams as well.
All newcomers are able to compete immediately and have four years of eligibility remaining for a squad that had a school-record four All-BIG EAST finishers at the conference championships last fall. The men's team tied it's best-ever finish, placing fourth with a program-best 99 points while the women's team took sixth for the second year in a row.
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Women:
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Lexi Keppler | Whitefish Bay, Wis. | University School of Milwaukee
Prior to Marquette: Lettered four times each in cross country and track at University School of Milwaukee under coach Eric Pilling ... She was a two-time captain in cross country (2018 and 2019) and a captain on the track & field team as a junior in 2019 ... A two-time cross-country team MVP award winner, Keppler was named First Team All-Conference as a senior ... She won the 2018 conference individual title in 2018 and qualified for her second consecutive appearance at the state championships ... On the track, she was named First Team All-Conference three times (2017-19) ... As a freshman, she helped set USM's school record in the 4x400-meter relay (outdoor, 4:10) ... Keppler also set the school record in the mile (outdoor, 5:18) and 5k (cross country, 19:57) ... She won conference titles in the 800, 1600 and 3200 during her junior year in 2019 and qualified for state in the latter two races ... She also qualified for the state track and field meet as a freshman in the 1600 and 4x400-meter races.
Personal: Keppler was born on July 1, 2002 in Milwaukee to Jennifer and George Keppler ... She has a twin sister, Caroline ... Plans on studying international business and business administration.
Gretchen Pfeiffer | Colleyville, Texas | Colleyville Heritage H.S.
Prior to Marquette:Â Lettered four times each in cross country and track at Colleyville High School under coach Nick Taylor ... Also played two years of high school tennis, where she finished third in the state as a freshman ... Pfeiffer was a two-year captain of the cross country team, where she helped her team finish second in the district in all four years of her career ... She led Colleyville to its first ever appearances at state in 2018 and 2019, where the team finished 13th in both seasons ... Individually, she finished in the top 10 at districts in each of her four years while her best finish at state was 43rd as a senior in 2019 ... She made both the All-State and Academic All-State teams as a senior ... On the track, she competed in the 800, 1600 and 3200-meter events, where she made numerous top-10 finishes in the district in all four years of high school ... She also competed as a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that finished first in the district during her sophomore season ... She holds her school record in the 5k (18:36) and 2k steeplechase (7:51) and was a member of the fastest 4x400-meter relay team in school history (4:07) ... Her PR's: 18:36 (5k), 2:22 (800), 5:15 (1600), 7:25 (2k steeplechase).
Personal:Â Pfeiffer was born on Aug. 9, 2002 in Omaha, Neb. to Jill and Jay Pfeiffer ... Her father, Jay, played collegiate soccer at the University of Colorado while her mother, Jill, played golf at Creighton University ... Has a younger sister, Justine, and a younger brother, Tobias ... Plans on studying biomedical engineering.
Men:
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Thomas Leonard | Chicago, Ill. | Marist H.S.
Prior to Marquette: Earned four varsity letters on the cross country and track teams at Marist High School under coach Jon Gordon ... A three-year varsity captain for cross country and track, Leonard helped his cross-country team qualify for the 2017 state championships as a sophomore ... He was an Academic All-State honorable mention in 2020 in addition to being named the ESCC Scholar Athlete of the year in 2018 and 2020 ... Leonard was the ESCC conference cross country champion in both 2017 and 2019 ... He won the IHSA Regional Championship in both his junior and senior seasons (2018 and 2019) ... A three-time individual state qualifier in cross country (2017-19), he also qualified for state in track as a junior in 2019 ... His personal best in the 800-meter is 2:03.76 and 4:25.28 in the 1600.
Personal:Â Leonard was born on April 19, 2002 in Palos Heights, Ill. to Marian and Tom Leonard ... He has two older sisters, Annemarie and MaryClare ... MaryClare runs on the cross country and track and field teams at Notre Dame ... Plans to major in biomedical engineering.
Dan Weizeorick | Lisle, Ill. | Wheaton St. Francis H.S.
Prior to Marquette: Lettered four times in cross country and three times in track at Wheaton St. Francis High School under coach Scott Nelson ... A two-time cross country and track & field team captain, Weizeorick was a four-time all-state selection in track and field and a 2019 all-state selection in cross country ... Twice he earned all-state honors as a member of his school's 4x800-meter relay team, while earning one honor apiece in the 1600 and 3-mile (cross country) ... The Male Athlete of the Year at his high school, Weizeorick was a five-time conference champion, including individual cross-country titles in 2018 and 2019 ... He helped his cross-country team qualify for state in class 2A in Illinois all four years of his career, leading them to conference team titles in 2018 and 2019 and a regional title in 2019 ... He also led his track and field team to a conference title in 2019 ... His PR's: 57.36 (400), 4:24 (1600), 15:07 (XC, 3-mile).
Personal: Weizeorick was born on April 25, 2002 in Berwyn, Illi. to Meg and Greg Weizeorick ... He has two older sisters, Erin and Beth ... Plans on studying business at MU.
David Zeller | Warrenville, Ill. | Wheaton Warrenville South H.S.
Prior to Marquette: Earned three letters each in cross country and track at Wheaton Warrenville South High School under head coach Chris Kuntz ... A 2019 All-State selection, Zeller helped his team to a cross country state title in 2018 as a junior and a runner-up finish as a senior in 2019 ... He also led his team to a third-place finish at state in 2017 and a conference title in 2018 ... His 3-mile personal best is 14:39 while his 5k best is 15:41 ... On the track he holds PR's of 1:58 and 4:26 in the 800 and 1600-meter events, respectively ... He competed for the Wheaton South XC Club in addition to his high school team, where he participated in two Nike Cross Nationals events (2018 and 2019) ... His club finished in 13th place nationally in 2018 and ninth place in 2019.
Personal: Zeller was born on Nov. 5, 2001 in Warrenville, Ill. to Allison and Matt Zeller ... Has one brother, Peter, and two younger sisters, Olive and Esther ... Plans on studying civil engineering at MU.
(Click on student-athlete's name below for full biographical information)
Keep up with the Marquette track and field program through social media by following on Twitter (@MUTFXC) and Instagram (@MUTFXC) and `liking' on Facebook (/MUTFXC).
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"I'm so excited to welcome these five men and women to the Marquette cross country family," head coach Sean Birren said. "Over the last five years I've seen many young men and women come on board, train hard, and make great strides to become important parts of our distance programs on and off the playing field. I expect the very same and more from this freshman class."
This year's class of recruits showcases three recruits from Illinois and one each from Texas and Wisconsin. They will all compete in mid-to-long distance races on the indoor and outdoor track & field teams as well.
All newcomers are able to compete immediately and have four years of eligibility remaining for a squad that had a school-record four All-BIG EAST finishers at the conference championships last fall. The men's team tied it's best-ever finish, placing fourth with a program-best 99 points while the women's team took sixth for the second year in a row.
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Women:
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Lexi Keppler | Whitefish Bay, Wis. | University School of Milwaukee
Prior to Marquette: Lettered four times each in cross country and track at University School of Milwaukee under coach Eric Pilling ... She was a two-time captain in cross country (2018 and 2019) and a captain on the track & field team as a junior in 2019 ... A two-time cross-country team MVP award winner, Keppler was named First Team All-Conference as a senior ... She won the 2018 conference individual title in 2018 and qualified for her second consecutive appearance at the state championships ... On the track, she was named First Team All-Conference three times (2017-19) ... As a freshman, she helped set USM's school record in the 4x400-meter relay (outdoor, 4:10) ... Keppler also set the school record in the mile (outdoor, 5:18) and 5k (cross country, 19:57) ... She won conference titles in the 800, 1600 and 3200 during her junior year in 2019 and qualified for state in the latter two races ... She also qualified for the state track and field meet as a freshman in the 1600 and 4x400-meter races.
Personal: Keppler was born on July 1, 2002 in Milwaukee to Jennifer and George Keppler ... She has a twin sister, Caroline ... Plans on studying international business and business administration.
Gretchen Pfeiffer | Colleyville, Texas | Colleyville Heritage H.S.
Prior to Marquette:Â Lettered four times each in cross country and track at Colleyville High School under coach Nick Taylor ... Also played two years of high school tennis, where she finished third in the state as a freshman ... Pfeiffer was a two-year captain of the cross country team, where she helped her team finish second in the district in all four years of her career ... She led Colleyville to its first ever appearances at state in 2018 and 2019, where the team finished 13th in both seasons ... Individually, she finished in the top 10 at districts in each of her four years while her best finish at state was 43rd as a senior in 2019 ... She made both the All-State and Academic All-State teams as a senior ... On the track, she competed in the 800, 1600 and 3200-meter events, where she made numerous top-10 finishes in the district in all four years of high school ... She also competed as a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that finished first in the district during her sophomore season ... She holds her school record in the 5k (18:36) and 2k steeplechase (7:51) and was a member of the fastest 4x400-meter relay team in school history (4:07) ... Her PR's: 18:36 (5k), 2:22 (800), 5:15 (1600), 7:25 (2k steeplechase).
Personal:Â Pfeiffer was born on Aug. 9, 2002 in Omaha, Neb. to Jill and Jay Pfeiffer ... Her father, Jay, played collegiate soccer at the University of Colorado while her mother, Jill, played golf at Creighton University ... Has a younger sister, Justine, and a younger brother, Tobias ... Plans on studying biomedical engineering.
Men:
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Thomas Leonard | Chicago, Ill. | Marist H.S.
Prior to Marquette: Earned four varsity letters on the cross country and track teams at Marist High School under coach Jon Gordon ... A three-year varsity captain for cross country and track, Leonard helped his cross-country team qualify for the 2017 state championships as a sophomore ... He was an Academic All-State honorable mention in 2020 in addition to being named the ESCC Scholar Athlete of the year in 2018 and 2020 ... Leonard was the ESCC conference cross country champion in both 2017 and 2019 ... He won the IHSA Regional Championship in both his junior and senior seasons (2018 and 2019) ... A three-time individual state qualifier in cross country (2017-19), he also qualified for state in track as a junior in 2019 ... His personal best in the 800-meter is 2:03.76 and 4:25.28 in the 1600.
Personal:Â Leonard was born on April 19, 2002 in Palos Heights, Ill. to Marian and Tom Leonard ... He has two older sisters, Annemarie and MaryClare ... MaryClare runs on the cross country and track and field teams at Notre Dame ... Plans to major in biomedical engineering.
Dan Weizeorick | Lisle, Ill. | Wheaton St. Francis H.S.
Prior to Marquette: Lettered four times in cross country and three times in track at Wheaton St. Francis High School under coach Scott Nelson ... A two-time cross country and track & field team captain, Weizeorick was a four-time all-state selection in track and field and a 2019 all-state selection in cross country ... Twice he earned all-state honors as a member of his school's 4x800-meter relay team, while earning one honor apiece in the 1600 and 3-mile (cross country) ... The Male Athlete of the Year at his high school, Weizeorick was a five-time conference champion, including individual cross-country titles in 2018 and 2019 ... He helped his cross-country team qualify for state in class 2A in Illinois all four years of his career, leading them to conference team titles in 2018 and 2019 and a regional title in 2019 ... He also led his track and field team to a conference title in 2019 ... His PR's: 57.36 (400), 4:24 (1600), 15:07 (XC, 3-mile).
Personal: Weizeorick was born on April 25, 2002 in Berwyn, Illi. to Meg and Greg Weizeorick ... He has two older sisters, Erin and Beth ... Plans on studying business at MU.
David Zeller | Warrenville, Ill. | Wheaton Warrenville South H.S.
Prior to Marquette: Earned three letters each in cross country and track at Wheaton Warrenville South High School under head coach Chris Kuntz ... A 2019 All-State selection, Zeller helped his team to a cross country state title in 2018 as a junior and a runner-up finish as a senior in 2019 ... He also led his team to a third-place finish at state in 2017 and a conference title in 2018 ... His 3-mile personal best is 14:39 while his 5k best is 15:41 ... On the track he holds PR's of 1:58 and 4:26 in the 800 and 1600-meter events, respectively ... He competed for the Wheaton South XC Club in addition to his high school team, where he participated in two Nike Cross Nationals events (2018 and 2019) ... His club finished in 13th place nationally in 2018 and ninth place in 2019.
Personal: Zeller was born on Nov. 5, 2001 in Warrenville, Ill. to Allison and Matt Zeller ... Has one brother, Peter, and two younger sisters, Olive and Esther ... Plans on studying civil engineering at MU.
(Click on student-athlete's name below for full biographical information)
Keep up with the Marquette track and field program through social media by following on Twitter (@MUTFXC) and Instagram (@MUTFXC) and `liking' on Facebook (/MUTFXC).
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Players Mentioned
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