By Will Menser, Contributing Writer
The fall season in 2016 ended incredibly well for the Eagles’ cross-country program as both the men’s and women’s teams placed runner-up in the conference meet and sent seniors Katy Falkenberg and Caleb Woodard to nationals. However, this season holds a lot of questions for a very new team that has since graduated nine seniors and brought in 17 total freshmen.
Randy Crist, head coach of both teams, spoke to the difference between the high school and collegiate levels: “For guys especially, the adjustment to college can be hard because in high school they run five kilometers, just over three miles, and in college they run eight kilometers, which is five miles.” It can be difficult for incoming freshmen to adapt to college sports, and to have this large group of freshmen could make it seem impossible. However, Coach Crist has been happy with their results thus far. “I think it’s gone really well,” he said.
Crist explained how he loves the personality of the group, which can be a rare find in a sport consisting mostly of conditioning, not play practicing. “We’ve got some people that are fun and light-hearted. A couple that really jump to mind are Ryan Wall for the guys and Bethany Koons for the ladies. They just have a joke, they have a smile . . . and you need that on a cross country team, otherwise it’s just work, work, work,” said Crist. As the new team tries to work and find its own identity apart from last year’s team, it seems like the players are buying in and embracing the process.
Senior Allison Lyon of the women’s team discussed some of the demands they are facing as a young team. “There’s a little bit of pressure. There are four or five really good women’s teams going into conference, and it would be awesome to qualify on our home course, so we’ll see what happens,” she said. Lyon also commented on the large group of new faces on the team: “Last year it felt like a different dynamic because there was a good amount of upperclassmen, but it’s been really fun seeing all of the different faces and personalities on the team. We’re all pretty close, and it’s great having so many freshmen that are willing to lead when myself or one of the other captains aren’t there. [It] has given us a huge potential for growth, and I’m excited to see where that takes the team.”
With several meets under their belt, the team has had the chance to see what the freshmen are capable of, and it has been impressive. The team is currently sitting somewhere in the middle of the pack, which is great considering the amount of runners they lost when last season ended. It also will be a good platform to spring from when the conference meet rolls around, which Asbury will be hosting.
Freshman Justin Spoon, who finished second out of the 42 competitors in the Mount Saint Joseph 5K Invitational, commented on being placed into leadership at an early start in his collegiate career. “Most of my goals are team and faith driven than more trackable things like time. I really want to be a leader in terms of my work ethic, as well as helping others on the team through their struggles wherever I can. I make it a priority in my life to try and lead others by example because of all the strong influential people I’ve had in my life,” he said. Spoon also discussed the interesting dynamic of the team now that it is so highly consistent of underclassmen: “The atmosphere of the team is really energetic. [W]e have plenty of room for improvement over the next 4 years, as we won’t lose many runners each year to graduation.”
This Eagles team will certainly be a fun group to watch over the next few years as they grow together as one big group. It’s rare to see such large classes sweep through, so it could become a great opportunity to see a very talented group perform well at conference and even nationals.
