Cross Country team makes school history

Waking up at 5 a.m. was not something that people would normally have looked forward to this past weekend, however, the early trip was worth seeing the beginning of a new era for the GCSU Cross Country team. Last Saturday morning, in Smith Station, Ala, the men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the Peach Belt Conference Championship, where the men earned a first-ever second place finish and the women placed fifth.  Each team significantly improved from their finishes at last season’s championship.
As the early morning drew to a close, the Bobcat men were not surprised by their second place finish; this was to be expected from a team that entered the competition with several previous first place finishes at other notable meets throughout the season.  Columbus State University took first place, but had to do so facing a determined GCSU squad.  Richard Dobson, the team’s top runner throughout the season, believed that he and  his teammates were ready to take on the stiff competition that awaited them.
“I told the guys, ‘if anyone is going to beat you, they’re gonna bleed doing it,’” Dobson said. “ In a race like this, you do not want to stress yourself out.  You want to keep the energy exciting and positive, because you will need that for the race, not for psyching yourself out.”
Dobson finished fourth overall, earning a spot on the All-Conference Team and also breaking the GCSU record in an 8K race.  Freshman Josh Hollar and junior Michael Hague were also top-10 finishers against the tough competition the team faced from Clayton State, Columbus State, North Georgia, Francis Marion, and UNC Pembroke.
“As a team, we had a stellar performance.  I felt like I did pretty well, and I’m excited about next year because we have a young team and everyone is returning,” said Hague, a junior environmental science major. 
The GCSU women found themselves competing against 11 other women’s squads, as opposed to the men having to face five.  The pressure was on, and coming off a rough finish last season, the women rose to the occasion.  Kellie Hughes, a junior exercise science major, was thrilled by their strong finish.
“I knew we were going to do better than last year. We have worked very hard in practice and our times have been improving all season.  A lot of us [made personal records]; that is really good.  Both teams did better than last year, and that is always a pleasure to watch,”  Hughes said.
Both the men and women will run one last time at the regional championship, held in Tennessee on Saturday.  The team is currently training and preparing themselves for what will be more challenging competition.  Head Coach Joe Samprone is proud of the team’s accomplishments thus far.
“We have two weeks to practice; we will have to get accustomed to a little more distance [a 10K].  We just have to maintain right now and we don’t want anyone to get hurt,”  Samprone said.
Whatever outcome unfolds at the regional meet, the Bobcats plan to continue drawing the attention of their competitors and next year win the Peach Belt Conference. The sport’s future here at GCSU is certainly a bright one.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 3 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