DETROIT -- The University of Detroit Mercy cross country teams will have new legs for the 2012 season as Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Guy Murray will bring in six newcomers.
 
He will add two on the women's side in Louisa Coppola (Warren, MI/Warren Woods Tower) and Haley Morairty (Buckley, MI/Buckley). Derek Gielarowski (Canton, MI/Plymouth), Matt Sutton (Royal Oak, MI/Shrine), Alex Wesche (Brooklyn, MI/Columbia Central) and Austin Wigent (Reading, MI/Reading) will join the men's team.
 
For the women, Coppola comes from Macomb Community College, where she ran cross country for two years and she came in fifth place in 2011 and 11th in 2010 in Division 1 of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). In the 2012 indoor track and field season, she was part of the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) that placed first two straight years and the 4x800m squad that had a second place finish for the second consecutive year. The 2011 DMR race also featured current Titan Ciara Curley-Poppe. Individually in 2011, she was third in the 800m and seventh in the mile run, while adding a fourth-place finish in the outdoor 1000m.  In high school, she was a Michigan Division 2 All-State runner in cross country as a junior and senior.
 
Morairty will come to UDM as a freshman. She is a four-time State Finals qualifier in Michigan Division 4 cross country and track and field. Her best finish in cross country was 31st overall which she accomplished as a freshman.
 
“Louisa and Haley will both make a positive contribution to the team.  Louisa is an instant impact performer that will help us at the front of the group. Haley has the potential and with a bigger training group should improve and play a big role in our future,” said Murray.
  
On the men's side, Gielarowski represented Michigan at the Mideast Meet of Champions in cross country in 2011. He also placed 12th in 2011 in Michigan Division 1 as he qualified in each of his four seasons. In 2011, he was the Division 1 Regional Champion in the 1600m, 3200m, and the 4x800m team. In 2010, he was a Division 1 state qualifier in both the 3200m and in the 4x800m relay.
 
Sutton was a four time state qualifier in cross country. In track and field, he qualified in Michigan's Division 4 in the 1600m and the 3200m in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Also in the 2011 season, he was part of the 4x800m relay team that qualified.
 
Wesche lettered in football and track at Columbia Central and will join the UDM cross country team. As part of Division 3 in Michigan, the 2012 track and field season saw him run in the 800m and place third. He was also on the 4x400m relay team that finished third. In 2011, he ran track and field placing eighth in the 800m.

Wigent comes from Reading and ran cross country in Division 4, placing ninth overall claiming All-State honors. In 2012, he came in fifth in the 800m and qualified in the 1600m and with the 4x800 and 4x400m relay teams. His junior year, he placed fifth again in the 800m and helped the 4x800m squad capture fourth place. In 2010, he qualified for both the 1600m and the 800m, while IN his freshman year he was part of the 4x800m team that was seventh and individually qualified for the 3200m.
 
“This group will contribute immediately," said Murray. "Derek should be a top-five scoring contender in the fall.  Austin has very good range and seems like he is ready for some more mileage and could be in the mix as he adjusts to the college level.  We will take it slow with Alex and have him ready for the track season and Matt has potential and how he adjusts to the mileage and training pace will determine where he falls in during year one,” said Murray.
 
The 2012 cross country season for both the men and the women will kick off on August 31 at the Golden Grizzly Open that will be hosted by Oakland University on the Oakland campus in Rochester.