Author: Hillary Holmes
The cross country teams’ vigorous training regimen has led them into the end of a successful season.
On Saturday, Oct. 31, while many of us were still in bed recovering from Friday night’s shenanigans, the teams competed in the SCIAC championships in Chino, California.
The women’s team swept the meet and took home first place, while the men’s team took third. This year both the men’s and women’s teams will be going to regionals on Nov. 14 at Pomona-Pitzer, but each team has had a very unique time getting there.
The men’s team has faced several obstacles this year, which have made the road to regionals all the more challenging, but strengthened the team. Several of the more experienced runners were injured throughout the season, forcing the first-year runners on the team to step in and fill the void.
“Because several runners are currently combating injury or illness, this season we’ve had a lot to ask of the very talented newcomers on our team,” Eric Kleinasser (sophomore) said in an e-mail interview. “In retrospect, I see our season so far as an opportunity to learn how to have a positive attitude in the face of such obstacles. Our team continues to build up and we will look to the future with enthusiasm,” he said.
The rough season gave the men’s team an opportunity to grow and bond. Cross country is a sport where training plays a large part in team growth and really shapes the season. One of the many challenges facing the team this season was getting the newcomers adjusted to the 8K race length.
Kleinasser has had an extremely successful season thus far, taking home both the Runner of the Year award and his third first-place finish of the season at SCIAC. Kleinasser will lead the team in regionals and says he is optimistic about the future and feels that the team will possess very positive team dynamics throughout regionals.
The women’s team has also had a successful season, grasping its second consecutive team title at the Chino SCIAC championship. Phoebe Merritt (first-year) finished third, leading the team to its first place finish. The women’s team is presently ranked 30th in the nation and third in the West Region – the highest in the SCAIC.
The men’s and women’s teams share the same training schedule and coach, which fosters a lot of team bonding on and off the course. Though cross country may seem like an individual sport, team unity plays a very important part during intense workouts or rough patches throughout the course of the season.
Despite the obstacles faced this season, the men’s team remained strong, and regionals will present the opportunity to show other schools what the Tigers have to offer. Similarly, the women’s team has had an outstanding season and will hopefully continue its winning streak throughout regionals. Claremont and Pomona have been Oxy’s fiercest competitors throughout the season for both teams, and will continue to be testing competitors during regionals.
The NCAA West Regionals will be held on Nov. 14th at Pomona-Pitzer at 9:00 a.m. The NCAA Championships will be subsequently held on Nov. 21 in Cleveland, Ohio.
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