The cross country teams began their seasons on Sept. 2 and competed again on Sept. 9. The men finished fifth at both events while the women finished fourth and sixth. Despite the youth and inexperience on both teams, head coach, Bryan Hagopian said he is impressed with the teams’ performance so far.
“I am pleased [with the results]. Our incoming athletes performed very well and our upper classmen were right on cue. It was good to start getting our feet wet and to get going in the right direction,” said Hagopian.
For the meet on Sept. 2, the women actually finished second in the conference, while the men finished third. Hagopian was very excited that the team was asked to race at the USF Invitational on Sept. 9.
“They’ve only invited certain teams, and we’re one of the teams that got invited. It’s great for the program to be getting recognition from Division I schools,” said Hagopian.
Nico Crecco, junior has been very happy with the performance of the team so far, especially with so many new faces.
“We have had two pretty solid races under our belts with our new team. We look to continue to strive for success these next couple of meets,” said Crecco.
Hagopian feels the teams will continue to improve as they gain experience. He hopes both teams will finish in the top two for conference and qualify for nationals.
“I think that we have very talented athletes on both the men’s and women’s teams, and just the idea of both of them qualifying to nationals is awesome,” said Hagopian.
One of these athletes is freshman, Craig Sulken. Other than adapting to the 6 a.m. practices, he’s been working on improving his stamina.
“[The biggest adjustment in college] is getting used to the early morning practices. I’ve [also] been trying to get more miles in, and just getting used to the longer races,” said Sulken.
Runners on the men’s team typically run 70-100 miles a week, and the women 60-80 miles. By running more miles, Sulken believes he’ll be better able to help the team achieve their goals.
“I just want to help this team qualify for nationals,” he said.
