The Northern Light

Cross country running isn't a widely publicized sport at UAA; in fact, some students don't even know that the teams exist. Considering both the men's and women's teams qualified for the Division II championships last season, they can't remain under the radar for long.

In spite of the accomplishment of last year, assistant coach Leslie Boyd is cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season. "I expect us to perform just as well, if not better than last season," Boyd said, though she wouldn't make any concrete predictions about UAA's national placement.

Aside from not putting unnecessary pressure on the runners, Boyd's refusal to make a prediction shows that her focus as a coach is to give her athletes every resource available to better themselves, not to size up the competition.

The runners also share in Boyd's confidence. Brent Knight, both a cross country skier and runner, has high hopes for the team this year, as he noted that many of this season's returning runners have shown significant improvement. "There's a lot of potential on our team, although there isn't a whole lot of depth," Knight said.

But like Boyd, his confidence is tempered with pre-season cautiousness. "It all depends on the first race. You can't really tell anything up until that point," Knight said.

The men's team is looking stable with a considerable number of returning athletes, most notably Brent Knight, Aaron Dickson, Drew Dickson and David Kiplagat. There are also several younger runners returning, like Mick Boyle and Auston Ellis, both of whom are coming off impressive freshman seasons.

The women's team is also looking very promising with a strong core of senior runners like Davya Flaharty, Danielle Pratt and Mandy Kaempf. Several runners new to UAA, such as Autumn Streuli and Elizabeth Chepkosgei, will be joining the ranks of the women's team.

But the team's strength doesn't come solely from its old athletes, but from the team as a whole.

The common misconception that cross country running isn't a genuine team sport couldn't be farther from reality. While it is true that all the teammates must run their own races, UAA runners have been taught to both think and run with a "pack mentality."

"People tend to space themselves out as they run to give themselves more space, but if they run as a group, they can go off of each other's energy and pull each other along," Boyd said.

This is not to say that the UAA cross country team is blindly following the leader. Since the team is made up of markedly different people, they would never be expected or encouraged to follow a mindset that doesn't fit their running style. "Everyone has their own character, so they all run with their own style. But we all seem to find each other around the finish line," Knight said.

Although each runner has their own reasons for being drawn to cross country, most get into it as an off-season activity. Staying in shape for cross country skiing is one of the biggest recruiters for cross country running, but the thrill of running itself keeps the athletes involved in it. Or maybe it's just the endorphin rush from running over three miles.

Aside from a runner's buzz, all the athletes take a certain amount of pride in the fact that they're running for UAA. "I'm happy just to be here; to be competing at the college level is just such an honor," Knight commented.

Going into their first meet, the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle, both the men's and women's teams looked strong. Of the seven UAA GNAC All Conference runners, five were returning for another season. The races, an 8K run for the men and a 6K run for the women, proved to be a very competitive.

Sophomore David Kiplagat won the Invitational with a time of 24:38, followed by teammates Aaron Dickson (6th), a senior, and sophomore Auston Ellis (45th). The men ranked 5th overall out of a field of 28 teams.

The UAA women held their own on the 6K course. Sophomore Laura Carr finished first for the Seawolves in 33rd with a time of 22:56 and junior Kaley Strachan followed in 38th, while Danielle Pratt and Davya Flaherty finished in 45th and 46th.

The UAA Seawolves cross country running team is looking like it could have a season as good as last year's, but, it could just as easily exceed everyone's expectations.

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