Bradynn Belcher, Campus Carrier asst. sports editor
Berry’s men’s and women’s cross country teams travelled 13 hours to compete at the Augustana Interregional Invitational in Rock Island, Illinois on Oct. 14 to go head-to-head against the top-ranked runners in Division III. The Vikings ran away with valuable experience from this meet, which will prepare them to confidently approach the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Championship meet and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Region meet in a few weeks.
The conditions were not ideal for the Vikings in Illinois. Not only was it so cold that some runners opted to race with gloves on, but rain poured onto the course for three consecutive days prior to the meet. There was a lot of anticipation walking in to the Augustana Invitational because it is a historically fast course, however, these outstanding conditions made it difficult for runners from every team to set new personal best times.
Nonetheless, the Vikings adapted to the elements and challenged their nationally ranked competitors by setting new personal records, individually placing amongst the best runners in the country, and placing higher than some ranked opponents as well as conference foes.
The Viking men placed 16th in a field of 43. The team was only seven points away from defeating the No. 28 ranked team in the country, according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, La Verne College. Berry did not let the rankings and accolades associated with their competition intimidate them on race day as No. 34 Trinity University could not catch up to the speed of the Vikings, placing six points behind them.
SAA opponent Centre College also made an appearance at the meet, but the Vikings hardly had to worry about them in the open field as the Colonels were conquered by the Vikings by 354 points on the day.
Sophomore Ethan Smith has been a consistent contributing scorer for the team throughout the season. Smith said that it is essential for his team to take advantage of any opportunities they have throughout the season to see how they stack up against conference rivals before the conference meet towards the end of the season.
“Beating Centre boosted our confidence for the conference tournament,” Smith said. “Anytime we run against teams from conference, especially when it’s a win, it is always a boost in confidence.”
Individually, graduate student Bradshaw Lathbury showed up in a big way for his team. Placing 12th in a field of 453, 10 out of the 11 runners that placed in front of the Georgia native are all-Americans in either cross country or track.
Captain Grady Coppock described how crucial Lathbury’s performances will be for the Vikings as they aspire to qualify for nationals.
“Bradshaw was mixing it up with national champions and all-Americans in track and country,” Coppock said. “His performance within that race was spectacular. He is going to be a huge factor for a low number on the board going forward.”
The women also faced the toughest competition that they have seen all year in their six-kilometer dart. Placing 22nd in a field of 42, three of the top five contributing runners had the best races of their collegiate careers.
Leading the Vikings was junior Anna Rose, who beat her old personal best by 36 seconds. Senior Hastings Gray and sophomore Leine Burke also elevated the standards for themselves on the muddy morning of the race by setting new records for themselves.
The women’s field consisted of nine nationally ranked teams, including the No.1 team University of Chicago, which the women were excited to match up against to further prepare them for the regional meet that will also consist of a field with nationally ranked foes.
Like the men, the women overtook nationally ranked participants of their own, including No. 19 Hope College.
In preparation for this meet, captain Asena Anderson said that the women set goals for themselves to beat their personal records in hopes that it would give them a much-needed confidence booster headed into the remainder of the season.
“If we [set personal bests] by 30 seconds or more like we plan to, we are going to have so much confidence for conference and regions,” Anderson said. “Confidence is something a lot of the girls struggle with on the team, so we really need that booster.”
Looking forward, the Vikings will tackle the SAA Championship meet in Lexington, Kentucky on Oct. 28. While this is a big meet, it does not impact the Vikings ability to compete in regionals, which will be the most important meet of the year as it will be Berry’s only hope for qualifying for nationals, a feat that has not been done since Berry Athletics transitioned to the NCAA. According to head coach Paul Deaton, winning the conference meet earns a team bragging rights, but his team is already looking forward towards their game plan for regionals.
Deaton said that the charged atmosphere and the pack field at the Augustana Interregional Invitational closely simulated regions and nationals if the Vikings qualify.
“One of the greatest takeaways from this weekend was the experience of getting elbowed a lot and trying to handle that because that is what future meets will simulate,” Deaton said. “Even though that was challenging, I think it was good experience. You just can’t read about that and gain from it the way you can if you experience it firsthand.”
Overall, Deaton said that both of his teams are exactly where they need to be at this point in the year, but none of his athletes have room to get complacent because there is still room to grow and work to be done if they want to compete to their fullest potential.
“We’re right where we wanted to be in terms of expectations,” Deaton said. “We wanted to believe it was possible to win, but [they] still have to put together a better day to win it. So that’s to be expected and hoped for. That’s where we are for the guys, for the girls, we wanted to make some progress and being able to compete on a more equal level with Centre, and they have. They’re excited about that.”
After witnessing the success of his team last weekend and seeing how motivated they are to keep improving, Smith expressed the faith that he has in his program to make it to unprecedented territory.
“I think this is the best chance that we have had to make it to Nationals since we made the switch to NCAA, and we’re going to keep getting better,” Smith said.