Runners strive for personal best
The University of Indianapolis men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to Louisville, Ky. on Oct. 1 to race in the Greater Louisville Classic.
The meet consisted of three races: gold, blue and silver. According to graduate student and assistant coach Brad Robinson, meets are usually split up based on top runners from DI, DII and DIII schools.
“We qualified for the blue race and the silver race,” said graduate student and assistant coach Brad Robinson. “Overall, we did very well.”
During the meet, every runner reached a new personal record.
Both the course and the weather were ideal for the Greyhounds, according to Robinson.
Sophomore Haley Wittig agreed.
“It was a pretty flat course with some rolling hills, but it was nothing compared to IU,” Wittig said.
The men took 11th place out of 33 teams, while the women took 12th place out of 32 teams.
Junior Mark Martinez led the men in the 8K course. He finished the race in 16th place and a time of 25:24.75. Sophomore Jacob Fisher came in 38th with a time of 25:53.79.
Graduate student Josh Gornall closed out the Greyhounds top 100 finishers coming in 91st.
Junior Stephanie Cave finished in the top 20 for the females. She came in 17th with a time of 18:37.84.
Because of her finish during the meet, Cave was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference “Runner of the Week,” which made her the first female runner from UIndy to win the award since 2006. Wittig finished the race at 19:27.59, taking 83rd place.
The team focused on running together in a pack during the meet. According to Robinson, much of the team is on the same talent level, which allows the runners to stick together throughout a course.
“With the pack running together, it keeps everyone motivated and pushes the entire pack forward,” Robinson said.
In order to prepare runners for meets, the team practices at least three days a week. The degree of intensity of each practice is based on the upcoming meets.
“We’ll usually follow our original routine. If we don’t have a meet over the weekend we will train pretty hard,” Robinson said.
The team has its goals, but individuals, such as sophomore Ben McMillan, have personal goals as well.
“I’d like to run at regionals,” McMillan said. “And I’d like to also run a 26:30 8K.”
Team goals include placing well in upcoming meets and preparing for the conference meets.
“We’d like to place between top three to top five at conference,” McMillan said. “We’re training hard and getting ready for out next meet.”
The team will head to Kentucky Wesleyan College on Oct. 15 to compete in the Fast Cats Classic.
