The cross-country team ran in Memphis, Tenn. at the Memphis Twilight Classic on Sept. 3. The teams competed in a four-mile race against many other colleges and universities. The men ranked top five among 22 teams.
According to senior Ryan Johnson, the team ran well but still has a lot of work to do. Replacing high caliber athletes like Daniel Kirwa and Wojciech Kopec won’t be easy though.
“We competed well for the full four miles,” Johnson said. “Our times weren’t exactly spectacular but considering we were only able to practice as a team for two weeks before this race, we are right where we need to be at this point in the season.”
In spite of the absence of graduated cross-country teammates, the new season has brought about a new runner all the way from Romania. Freshman Lajos Farkas is already making a contribution to the team, Johnson said.
“As Lajos continues to develop and our sophomore and junior runners mature and rise to the challenge of running in the top seven, I fully expect our team to continue the tradition of excellence that this school has come to expect from our cross-country teams,” Johnson said.
Along with the men, the women attempted to show out in the four mile competition also. Senior Mary Samoei led the women to a ninth place finish amongst 25 teams in the Twilight Classic finishing 26th in the 5K.
Although the women improved their initial team ranking to ninth place from 20th, they continue to push themselves in hopes of advancing to even better ranks.
“I think overall we wanted to run a lot better, junior Allison Dixon said. We realize this was our first meet, and it helped us see what we need to work on individually and as a team. So it was a good learning experience, I guess you could say,” Dixon said.
The women hope to win more meets, conquer conference and make their way to the national competition. They realize, however, that hard work and determination is the formula to the success that they seek.
“We have such a great group of girls that make workouts more enjoyable, Dixon said. “We all love and support and encourage each other, which makes everything easier and more fun. And we have a blast on road trips.”
Cross-Country/Track Head Coach Steve Guymon has high hopes for his team. He believes that with hard work, greatness can be accomplished.
“We lost some great runners but I have been blessed with a great team this year, Guymon said. We have a couple of injured athletes this semester but we remain focused on winning conference and getting to nationals as we have in the past,”
Guymon prepares to travel with the team tomorrow to Joplin, Mo. for the Missouri Southern Stampede where the cross-country team will have another shot at achieving its goals towards nationals.
