The men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the SCIAC championships in Claremont Nov. 1, with the men’s team placing sixth and the women’s team placing third overall.
Assistant Coach Demi Marine said this race showed a complete night-and-day difference between where the teams are this year compared to last year.
“I don’t want to say I was surprised, but it was really exciting to see that the team was closer than ever at one of the most important meets,” Marine said.
Jack Elfenbaum (junior) placed fourth at the event, picking up First-Team All-SCIAC honors.
“It was my focus the entire season — I knew I was gonna be first team,” Elfenbaum said. “I was just working towards it every day.”
According to Elfenbaum, he usually works his way up during the races. He said he started out around 40th during the SCIAC Championship race.
“I won’t lie, the first maybe mile it felt like I wasn’t even racing. I was kind of just jogging, you know?” Elfenbaum said. “I [went] from 40th to 4th … that was pretty far. I think [it was] one of the best races I’ve ever had; something I’ll remember forever.”
Elfenbaum said he raced the last two miles with an Occidental alum who had an extra year of eligibility and is now on the Pomona-Pitzer team.
“I beat him in the last 200 meters,” Elfenbaum said. “We’ve been racing together for a long time, so [it was] a bit of a switch up to race against him.”
Head Coach Rob Bartlett said he is excited to watch Elfenbaum’s athletic future unfold.
“Jack has grown tremendously in his two and a half years with our team,” Bartlett said via email. “Physically, he now runs about 15-20 miles a week more than he used to, but he’s also developed into a team-first leader who cares about everyone else’s success more than his own.”
According to Marine, Elfenbaum’s underdog mentality is going to play a big part in him advancing to Nationals.
Jenna LeNay (senior) placed 17th and earned second team All-SCIAC honors at the race, making her a four-time All-SCIAC selection with two first-team distinctions.
Bartlett said LeNay is one of the hardest workers he has ever coached.
“She holds herself to very high standards in terms of how much she practices,” Bartlett said. “Every little drill is done the right way, every single day.”
Assistant Coach Dave Foley said he’s had a lot of fun watching both Elfenbaum and LeNay work hard to get to where they are now.
“For Jenna, very few women have gotten four All-SCIAC honors over their four-year career at Oxy,” Foley said via email. “That is an incredible accomplishment.”
Anya Agha (first year) placed 23rd in the race, only a few spots short of an All-SCIAC finish. Agha said this was her favorite race thus far because she was able to set a personal record with a time of 23:13.
“This […] was our last race with our whole group and with all the seniors, and so it was very emotional,” Agha said. “Everybody was crying when we finished.”
Agha said she appreciates the team’s culture and chemistry, with teammates constantly checking in on each other.
Elfenbaum said this year the cross country teams are closer after group discussions about goal-setting.
“We have team meetings with a mental health coach [who’s] seeing all the teams on campus right now,” Elfenbaum said. “We’re […] holding each other accountable and it feels like a very great atmosphere to be able to race [I] have a team that I [can] call my family.”
Marine said she thinks the women’s team will surprise themselves in ways they don’t even know they are capable of at Regionals.
“Me and Rob, […] believe in them a lot … I think our belief is starting to rub off on them even more,” Marine said.
Agha said the top six runners from both the men’s and women’s teams will advance to the NCAA West Regional in Claremont Nov. 15.
“[It’s] our last race of the season, but also my first regional,” Agha said. “I’m going to try and take it all in, and think about it as a fun opportunity rather than [as] a really challenging race, even though it will also be that.”
Contact Ava LaLonde at lalonde@oxy.edu
