Durango’s own Nicholas Turco knew the conditions at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, would be difficult and said it reminded him of his days at Durango High School.
The third-year sophomore took 42nd overall, two spots off of an All-American place. The Animas High graduate and former Durango High cross-country star finished with a time of 33 minutes, 34.8 seconds in the men’s 10-kilometer race and helped Western State Colorado University to a third-place finish.
“We’ve had some ridiculous conditions this entire year, and it was ankle-deep mud the whole time, but we wore five-eighths-inch spikes, and it helped take care of the problem,” Turco said. “We know how to grind through the mud, and connecting it back to Durango, I grew up running on crazy trails up and down, and so the course played into my hands. That’s cross-country, and it’s one of the reasons why we love it. The conditions can be a little ridiculous, but overall, the race was great and so was the environment.”
Turco, who was an alternate last season at the same race, said his key to success was embracing the pressure.
“My mindset this year has just been to relax as much as possible, to be honest” he said. “I’ve learned a lot as an athlete since my time at DHS, and the biggest thing is to be calm and start enjoying the process and trusting that what you’re training for is preparing you for these big-time meets. I used to get really anxious before races and am really happy now because the calmer I’ve been, the better I’ve ran, and it was honestly one of the best races of my life because of my new approach.”
Fort Lewis College’s Hosava Kretzmann ended his FLC cross-country career exactly how he wanted to – with grit, determination and his signature strong kick. The senior placed 47th in his first appearance at the meet for Fort Lewis College with a time of 33:43.8. It was the highest individual finish for the program since 1995 when Bryan Bailey finished in 21st overall.
“It was definitely tough out there today, that was hard in itself, and I’m really proud that I could represent my school in that way,” Kretzmann said. “The conditions were meant for the people that really know cross-country well and can thrive off of the mud, rain and just have it be cold and windy. All forces of nature were against us today, and it was really an intense experience.”
Kretzmann, who is from Prescott, Arizona, hoped for a top-40 finish, which would qualify him for an All-American status.
“Sometimes, it’s not about the end result, it’s how you got there,” Kretzmann said. “For myself, I really didn’t expect to do so well this season, but it happened really with pure grit, the support from my team ,and they taught me that winning isn’t everything. Sometimes, it’s more so how you got there and the experiences that you got to share with your team and coaches. I think the little stuff matters, even though I didn’t finish as well as I wanted to and it’s the little things that make life important and this is something I’ll keep in my memories forever.”
Fort Lewis head coach Joshua Coon thought that Kretzmann’s performance was a great way to end his season.
“I’m very proud of Hosava,” Coon said. “He’s a great runner and a better human being. He’s always willing to grow and is always hungry to get better. I have no doubt post collegiately he will continue to make us proud and find success.”
Heading into the race, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams were favorites as both men’s and women’s teams had the top-two teams in the country in Adams State University and Western State. However, the RMAC was unable to bring home a title, as Grand Valley State University of Michigan won both the men’s and women’s titles. On the men’s side, the Lakers finished with 89 points while Colorado School of Mines was second with 99 points. Western State and Adams State took third and fourth, with 117 and 175 points, respectively.
The RMAC did claim the individual men’s title, as Marcelo Laguera of Colorado State University-Pueblo won the race with a time of 31:46.4, while Adams State’s Elias Gedyon finished in third (32:05.1).
On the women’s side, Adams State, Western State and Mines had a took third through fifth, respectively, while Adams State’s Eilish Flanagan was second overall with a time of 22:12.4. Grand Valley’s Sarah Berger won the women’s race with a time of 22:07.7.
Kretzmann said it was tough to train for the meet because he was Fort Lewis’s only qualifier, and his mindset was different heading into a national meet.
“There wasn’t anyone I could train with, and it was tough to force myself to run because, at that point, it felt like my season was over and I could relax a little bit,” Kretzmann said. “But my parents, teammates and coaches really pushed me and reminded me to keep training because it’s the national meet. My mindset was so different for this race compared to the regional or conference meet because you’re going up against the top runners not just in the region, but the country. So it was such a great experience today, and I just kept trying to stay up with the top groups because I knew I could do it. Thankfully, I did and it was a fantastic way to end the year.”
bploen@durangoherald.com
