Cross country finds their pace ahead of SCIAC Championships
Photo courtesy of Larry Newman
The Panthers competed in the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside) Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 27, where Division I, II, III and junior college teams ran for glory. Chapman’s men’s team placed 24th in the 8k, and the women’s team placed 14th in the 5k.
Junior screen acting major Gavin White led the men’s side with a time of 25 minutes and 27.2 seconds (25:27.2) in the 8k individual race. Freshman biological sciences major Valerie Noria clocked 18:51.7 in the women’s individual 5k race. Junior sociology and psychology major Brenda Daza was also the only Chapman athlete to run in the women’s individual 6k, placing 76th out of 220 runners with a time of 21:34.1.
During the women’s 5k, the Panthers had just five athletes on the course. Although only the top five runners score points, teams typically have seven runners, with two used as a way to displace opponents' scores and serve as tiebreakers within the team.
“Placing 14th was a big deal for us, because we didn’t have a full team,” junior psychology major Natalie Brazfield said.
Brazfield also said the UC Riverside course had three or four small hills that the runners could really feel during the race. Despite that, the women’s team exceeded expectations and even placed above DI and II schools.
“With the women’s side, we went in not expecting as good results, and they kind of flipped it,” cross country assistant coach Mircea Bogdan said.”
The men’s team struggled to find their footing and started out slower than usual.
“For the men, we expected a little more than what we ended up getting,” Bogdan said. “We take what we can, given the fact that we haven’t competed in a month.”
Senior health sciences major Alejandro Aguirre Ramirez ran with a time of 26:07.3 in the men’s individual 8k. During the same meet last year, Ramirez was trampled and suffered a concussion after taking a fall. Competing in this race was a step toward gaining that confidence back.
“We got a little rusty,” Ramirez said. “It was a very strong field; there were a lot of big DI and DII schools.”
In a field full of fierce competition, the Panthers fell short with a slow start to the race. Though it’s still the beginning of the season, practice only makes perfect. Bogdan said that he spent a lot of time focusing on base training to refine his runners’ technique and endurance.
“One of the reasons why I spent more time building (a) base is because I’m new to the team,” Bogdan said. “I spent a few weeks getting to know them, understanding their level.”
Running is a physically demanding sport that requires consistent training. Bogdan’s choice to prioritize base over speed helps prevent his runners from injury, especially since some of them are running 70 to 80 miles a week.
Following this meet, the practices have strayed from endurance and have transitioned into speed training.
“We are looking to lower the distances, so more like 400 meter or quarter-mile reps, even 200 meter reps,” Bogdan said. “It helps with turnover.”
This meet revealed the teams’ weak points, but it’s just another hill on the course the Panthers need to clear before they embark on the road to the SCIAC Championships.