It says something about the Fort Lewis College women’s cross country program when the team didn’t have its best stuff at the NCAA Division II South Central Region Cross Country Championships and still advanced to the national championships.
Women’s cross country coach Gracen Key said her team had a B- or C+ plus day at the Pueblo Country Club in Pueblo on Saturday. FLC finished eighth out of 26 schools in the region and was selected for an at-large bid for the national championships for the third consecutive year on Monday. Thirty-four teams made it to the national championships, with 24 teams earning automatic qualifications and 10 teams getting at-large bids.
“We did just enough to make the national meet that day at regionals,” Key said. “They don't really tell you which at-large bid you are, but I can imagine that we were probably one of the last ones to get in … just maintaining that level of competition, sometimes the pressure definitely can get to you. We're just still trying to navigate that.”
The Pueblo Country Club course was challenging with a narrow design with twists and turns and some elevation change, according to Key.
FLC senior Hannah Hartwell led the women’s team with a third-place finish in the women’s 6-kilometer race in 20 minutes and 23.7 seconds. Adams State’s Tristian Spence won the race in 20:06.2, and Ava O’Connor from Adams State finished second in 20:14.7.
Hartwell was in fourth for most of the race, but she had a great final kilometer to move up to third, according to Key.
“From the get-go, you could tell that she was a little hesitant to go with them,” Key said about Hartwell and the top two. “So we're working on her confidence; those girls went out guns a blazing, and she just has to be comfortable with being uncomfortable for a majority of the race. We're challenging her to not settle … if she really wants a title, this is her last opportunity to do it in cross country.”
Skyhawks senior Alliyah Molina finished 32nd out of 171 female runners in 21:55.1. Freshman Carysa Marquez finished 64th in 22:46, senior Marisol Castilleja finished 81st in 23:06.6, and junior Althea Griffith finished 93rd in 23:19.9 to round of the scorers for FLC.
Key knows her other four scorers didn’t have their best pace, but she was proud of how they fought for each other. Key said that’s a testament to the program’s culture.
The FLC men’s team also competed in the South Central region, and the Skyhawks finished eighth out of 24 schools. The men did not receive an at-large bid to the national championships.
“It was a good race for us in terms of us racing as a team and how we executed,” FLC men’s cross country coach Dalton Graham said. “It's just tough moving up to 10,000 meters with … five of those seven guys that were their first 10k of their career … We're probably one of the youngest teams lining up and probably one of the lowest mileage teams toeing the line right now.”
Sophomore Cesar Diaz finished 37th to lead the FLC men’s team in the men’s 10K race in 31:48. Freshman Cody Sullivan wasn’t far behind in 51st in 32:05.7; freshman Evan Morozowich finished 54th in 32:08, freshman Crewe Resendez finished 55th in 32:09.4, and senior Brady Burrough finished 56th in 32:10.4 to round out the scoring positions for the FLC men.
Graham was disappointed his team couldn’t make the national championships, as they were one of the last teams that didn’t get an at-large bid. He’s excited to see how his young group learns from this experience. Graham is already looking ahead to the indoor track season and next cross country season.
Next for the FLC women is the Division II national championship on Nov. 22 in Kenosha, Wisconsin on the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course. Key hasn’t been to the course before, but FLC men’s head coach Dalton Graham has, and he said it’s a real woodsy course, but not very spectator-friendly.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
