Bradynn Belcher, Campus Carrier asst. sports editor
Senior Grady Coppock and graduate students Bradshaw Lathbury and Brody Wallace ended their collegiate careers at the biggest stage possible in Division III cross country. The trio qualified for the NCAA Cross Country D-III National Championships in Newville, Pennsylvania to compete alongside the best runners in the country on Nov. 18. The national championship course was over 10 hours away from Berry College. Approaching finals, many may consider Pennsylvania to be a far too long distance to travel if they are not competing themselves, but the Berry men’s cross-country team is different.
In the middle of the final race of his career, Wallace was coming out of the woods at Big Spring High School at the three-kilometer mark, less than halfway done with the eight-kilometer dash. The graduate student turned the corner alongside a packed field of 294 runners and thousands of fans and spectators. In the middle of the chaos, Wallace saw fellow Viking Ethan Smith on the sidelines cheering him on. On their own dime, a group of Berry cross country runners who did not individually qualify for the national stage traveled 20 hours round trip for less than a day to support their teammates at the biggest moment of their careers. This is the team culture that these three athletes have built and instilled during their tenure as Vikings.
“When [my] name cut through the white noise and [I] looked over and saw one of [my] teammates going nuts and they were almost as excited for [me] to be there as I was, it was motivating and it felt so good,” Wallace said.
Head men’s and women’s cross country coach Paul Deaton said that for a team to have the ability to foster a culture which individual’s push one another to their peak performance through internal competition, but equally find joy in each other’s success is a rare combination that led these three athletes to success at the national level.
“Learning how to be supportive, caring teammates and friends off the course, but also how to challenge each other, not criticize but challenge each other constantly is an unusual team chemistry to build,” Deaton said. “Those three guys were part of a group of guys that learned how to do that.”
Since the beginning of his career in a Viking jersey, Lathbury’s only individual goal was to become an All-American. Qualifying for the national stage for three consecutive years, the graduate student fell just short in his 2022 campaign. Lathbury finished in 45th at the National Championships, but only the top 40 runners in the country are crowned All-Americans. Luckily, the third try brought triumph for this Viking.
Amid the chaos at the national meet, spectators saw a runner with “Berry” shown proudly across his chest begin to solidify his reputation as one of the fastest runners in the country and break away from a packed field of 294 runners in the top third of the group. In 29th place, the Woodstock native picked up the cadence to ensure he would fulfill a childhood dream of leaving the meet with a medal. At the six-kilometer marker, Lathbury was seen once again, this time in 20th. Seeing his collegiate career quickly come to a close, the Viking made a choice to use every bit of juice he had left in the tank. With a final time of 24:44.0, Lathbury made veteran moves and passed four competitors on the leaderboard, crossing the finish line in 16th place, and achieving All-American status.
As an elite athlete, Lathbury is in constant critique of his performance. However, he said that this was the first time he left a race completely satisfied. All the pieces finally fell into place, and his hard work paid off.
“It was chaos,” Lathbury said. “It was relieving to actually complete a race and know that I did what I wanted to do. I feel like most of the time when I finish a race it’s unsatisfying. It’s hard to describe, but I finally got a satisfying feeling.”
During his time in the Viking uniform, Lathbury has accumulated three Southern Athletic Association Runner of the Year awards along with several All-Region accolades and three individual nationals qualifications. Bookending his career with an All-American finish, this Viking is the most decorated cross country athlete in program history, since entering the D-III era.
Before his final meet, Lathbury strategized with Deaton about how he was going to successfully conquer the course. Deaton said that one of the most satisfying aspects of being a coach is seeing his vision successfully come to fruition.
“He didn’t just recognize when it happened,” Deaton said. “He recognized it 24 hours before it happened and then was able to execute and run on that level. It was really cool to watch. I think it’s only right to say that everything went right.”
As a fifth year, this was Wallace’s first time qualifying for the National Championships. The graduate student finished amongst the top runners in the country in a 238th place finish with a time of 26:34.9. Wallace emphasized that the cluster of so many athletes made it difficult to navigate through the pack.
“I was like dead center and it was a lot more physical with bumping and slapping,” Wallace said. “I got spiked a couple of times. Having that many people and trying to work your way through was my biggest challenge.”
Despite that, Wallace said that though it took him five years to make it there, it was absolutely worth the wait.
Coppock was the final Viking to cross the line at nationals. The captain, buzzing his hair to make this experience even more memorable, clocked a time of 26:40.5 for a 247th place finish. The Savannah native had to overcome adversity early in the race. A competitor fell directly in front of Coppock, and using every inch of athleticism he had, the senior redirected and hurdled over the fallen competition. Unfortunately, Coppock tripped and fell due to the unseen rough terrain. Despite that, Coppock was in 260th place with only two kilometers left of his collegiate career and used that as motivation to ascend 13 places on the leaderboard.
The trio attribute their success to the summer and fall training programs that Deaton coaches them through. Including the “Walter Payton” hill circuit and three consecutive 90-mile training weeks prior to the season beginning, Deaton gave these three the tools they needed to peak at just the right time.
“Summer miles bring fall smiles,” Lathbury said with a laugh.
The Viking trio demonstrated tangible gratitude towards all the effort and mentorship that their coach has poured into them the past four to five years. Though their season has concluded, each of them still visit Deaton in his office to tell him random stories or anecdotes about their days. Without a shadow of a doubt, the athletes are grateful to have been mentored by Deaton.
“I think sometimes when we do great things, it’s not unusual or even uncalled for, to be proud of it, but to, to hear and watch authentic emotion of, ‘I’m so thankful for the people who made this possible for me’ was a very humbling, sobering, wonderful experience,” Deaton said.