Cross Country team blows by Oglethorpe for 2nd straight year

Coming off strong victories two Saturdays ago at the North Georgia Challenge, the men’s and women’s cross country teams continued to show their strength Saturday at the Oglethorpe Invitational.  Each team took first place, with each of its top runners having to endure what was a strenuous race.
The Oglethorpe course was composed of narrow woodland trails, hard concrete and many steep hills.  All of which can pose a threat to even the most seasoned runners. 
Richard Dobson, GCSU’s top runner and the overall first place finisher at the Invitational, met the challenge head-on.
“Any endurance sport is about your body’s ability to cope with pain.  It is tough coping with the physical and mental strain cross country puts on your body.  This was a real tough course.  Some guys were puking, some had to stop and DQ [disqualify] themselves because of tiredness or a sprained ankle,” Dobson said.
The GCSU teams pushed forward despite the obstacles.  Sophomore Alex Pate finished the race despite sustaining an injury.
“On the second mile, I sprained my ankle and I didn’t know if I could finish.  After I kept going, the pain went away.  I was able to finish the race,” Pate said.
Jennifer Keeton, a junior and top five runner on the women’s team believed the course to be a bit rocky.
“Time wise, I was slower than the week before, but it was a hilly course,” Keeton said. “Hills can really slow you down.”
The men’s team has enjoyed its stellar performances, and they find themselves riding a current hot streak. The team has not always been such a competitor.
“As a team we came in first,” Dobson said. “It was really good to win that race [for the second time].  We are 2-0 right now, which feels great because that doesn’t happen too often.”
Along with the men, the women’s team has done exceptionally well, winning two out of the last three meets.
“We run well together.  There’s friendly competition between us and that motivates us to work harder.  When one of us goes faster, the other goes faster too,” Keeton said when asked about the chemistry on the women’s team.
Both teams have high expectations for the remainder of the season, hoping to continue winning and improving until the Peach Belt Conference meet, which determines the conference champion.  With several meets remaining, the Bobcats will continue to have an opportunity to improve and prepare themselves for conference.   Last season saw the Bobcats finishing 6th overall in the Peach Belt Conference; a higher finish is what these athletes have their sights set on this season.
“The team needs to be training with conference in mind.  We want to peak at conference, not at any of our next meets.  You want to run your best race to be at conference, so that we can qualify for the regional championship,” Dobson said.
A strong finish at conference will earn a chance to compete in the region championship, putting the Bobcats within reach of potentially qualifying for the Division II National Championship; a goal Dobson believes is feasible.
The men’s team travels to Minnesota this weekend to compete in the Roy Griak Invitational.  The women will compete again two weeks from now along with the GCSU men in the Georgia Collegiate Championships, in Macon.
“If you have never experienced a cross country meet, it is worth it.  We run Sept. 30 in Macon, so come see what it’s all about,” Keeton said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 22 2006. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry