Author: Henry Meier
Occidental Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams were in action this weekend as they both ran in the annual SCIAC Multi-Dual meet on Saturday Oct. 18. The men’s team came out blazing in this first of two races that will determine this years SCAIC champion, placing first as a team. The women gave a valiant effort as well, ending up in a tie for third place.
While both teams had mixed results in their earlier meets this year, it all was part of building up to these all-important SCIAC meets.
“I don’t really worry too much about what happens in September since it doesn’t affect our conference or regional standings,” Head Coach Rob Bartlett said. “So although Pomona and Claremont beat us early on this year, the teams knew that we were really just going into those meets to get work done.”
All that early work seems to have paid off for the men who turned in a dominating performance on Saturday. Led by first-year phenom Eric Kleinsasser who placed first overall with a time of 26:11.26, Oxy placed a total of five runners in the top 10 at the meet. While much of this dominance can be attributed to the Tiger’s grueling training regime that keeps them in peak physical shape, another huge part of Oxy’s win was strategy and mental preparation.
“Having a plan and knowing exactly what we were going to do really put us mentally in the right place,” co-captain Keith Blumenfield (senior) said. “And in a sport like cross country, where the mental aspect is so huge, that helped immensely. I think we just went into the race with the right mental attitude and the knowledge that we could do very well, and it paid off.”
While Kleinsasser paced the field, several other Oxy runners were given recognition for their contributions to the team. “Some of the performances of the day aren’t really the obvious ones,” Bartlett said. “Senior Clay Hoadley was our third guy (5th overall), but had the best race of his life in a number of ways. First-year Thomas Cahuzac was our 6th finisher, but ran out of his mind. There wasn’t anyone in that race who was more focused and committed than him.”
The women’s side had a more difficult day, but they remain positive despite the setback. Their training has been just as intense and committed as the men’s, but their luck hasn’t been quite the same. “The women have had a tough year with injuries and sickness,” Bartlett said. “They didn’t have a great day, but have more than enough talent to come back in two weeks for the SCIAC Championships and show just how good they are as a team.”
While the race may have not gone as planned, there were some bright spots on the women’s side.
“Sophomore Kassy Griswold had a huge breakthrough performance,” Bartlett said. “She’s only in her first season of cross country, but she ran like she’s been racing for years. First years Sadie Mohler and Meghan Whalen have been improving all year, and showed that they have the talent to compete at the top of the conference.”
The women realize that they have a lot of work to do in the coming weeks in order to get back to the top of the pack at the SCIAC Championships.
“To prepare for conference, we make sure to do normal runner stuff like eat right, hydrate, sleep,” co-captain Denali Halsey (junior) said. “For the girls team we need to start running more as a team, and less like a group of individuals. So we are focusing on really doing well in our workouts (mentally and physically) and supporting each other throughout the next two weeks.”
The men’s team will be doing a similar routine in the next couple of weeks in preparation for the SCIAC Championship meet. They will be tapering as the race approaches and focusing on the cerebral aspect of the sport.
“We’re transitioning into a different phase in our season where we’re getting ready to peak, so we’re making sure we get a lot of rest and take care of the little things,” co-captain David Martinez (senior) said. “Most importantly, we’re also making sure we stay mentally focused and motivated for the conference.”
Both the men’s and women’s teams will race in their final regular season meet of the year on Saturday Nov. 1st in the SCIAC Championship meet.
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