The men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the University of California, Riverside Invitational Sept. 15. Schools from NCAA Divisions I, II and III were all in attendance. Occidental’s women’s team placed seventh overall in a field of 19 teams, and the men’s team placed fourth overall in a field of 16 teams.
The National Coaches Poll was released for both men’s and women’s cross country Sept. 12. The men’s team received their first national ranking this season at 35th in the country among all NCAA Division III programs. Both the men’s and women’s teams are currently ranked fourth in the west region. National rankings are determined by eight representatives from all over the country, according to head coach Robert Bartlett.
“The last few years both [the men’s and women’s] teams have been nationally recognized and have been awarded some kind of ranking,” Bartlett said.
Compared to last season, the men’s team was a top 25 program among other Division III schools, according to Brody Barkan (senior). The team as a whole is disappointed at the ranking, but understands exactly what needs to be done in order to improve, according to Barkan.
“Frankly, this ranking is a bit of a slap in the face compared to last season,” Barkan said.
Rankings this early in the season are usually not a good indication of where teams will end up finishing, according to Bartlett. Many of the top 35 ranked teams have not competed against each other yet.
“We know that, really, until October, these rankings don’t really mean anything,” Barkan said. “Teams are not yet racing all of their guys.”
Both teams have many new members this season. The men’s team has 12 first years and the women’s team has six first years. Last season, the women’s team recruited 10 new runners, but the men’s team did not recruit any. As a result, the men’s team has been placing significant emphasis on recruiting first years, according to Davies.
“This season, [men’s cross country] has a really strong team of first years,” Barkan said. “They are the driving force in our top seven runners.”
Of the top 10 runners on the men’s team, over half of them are first years, according to Barkan. Looking ahead to next year, four of the top seven runners on the women’s team are seniors, so recruiting will remain important in the following years, according to Davies.
“It’s definitely a young team, which means that there is a lot of room to grow in the future,” Davies said.
Training has been pretty similar this year compared to last, according to Barkan. Since both teams have a significant amount of underclassmen, it leaves room for growth and progress, according to Bartlett.
“Both teams are a little better than I thought they would be coming into this season,” Bartlett said. “I didn’t really know quite what to expect coming in.”
Over the summer, a lot of athletes trained hard and came back in better shape than they had in previous years, according to Davies. In general, training is more about durability than the workouts themselves, especially because injuries are so prevalent in collegiate cross country, according to Barkan.
“What I’ve been repeating throughout the season is, you can’t run fast if you can’t run at all,” Barkan said.
Scoring this season is different than last season, according to Davies. The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) has eliminated multi-dual meets. Instead, teams compete at larger invitationals with other schools, and toward the end of the season, teams will compete at the SCIAC championships in order to determine the rankings.
“Cross country is so varying on course conditions and distance, you can’t really run for time, you have to run for place,” Davies said. “But in those bigger invites, it’s hard to run in top 10 or top 20 because the field is so much more competitive.”
After last season, both the men’s and women’s teams were named U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic teams. The women’s team has the highest GPA of any athletic team at Occidental, with the men’s team right behind them, according to Bartlett’s records. Working hard in the classroom is important to members of both teams, according to Davies.
“Like all Oxy students, everyone is here to first and foremost get their degrees,” Bartlett said. “Academics isn’t something I necessarily worry about — the team is dedicated and they work hard.”
Looking ahead to the remainder of the season, both teams are hoping to qualify for NCAA Division III nationals in November, according to Barkan and Davies.
