Jeff Chandler (right) was the top Patriot runner in the men's division of the NCAA Div. III South/Southeast Regional cross country meet in Guilford, N.C. Chandler placed 20th in a field of 178. Photo by Joseph Elerson.
The University men finished 9th out of 35 teams in the 8k race, while the women’s team finished 17th out of 35 teams. “They were a mess,” coach Bob Hepler said jokingly of his women’s team. “They were emotionally spent after conference and we could sense that...all of them as individuals had never run this hard before.”
The remnants from Hurricane Ida showed for all of the runners who faced muddy conditions the full length of the Meadows Course on the Guilford College campus. But that didn’t affect the Patriots either way because they have experienced a rainy running season in East Texas.
“We are used to it and I think the big thing is we are a very, very young team,” Hepler said. “We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores that have never been here before.” The University women won the American Southwest Conference championship Oct. 31 at Mississippi College, while the men’s team finished second.
Emory University (Georgia) won the men’s meet with 33 points, followed by Lynchburg College (Virginia) with 102 points. Rhodes College (Tenn.) won the women’s race with 35 points, while Emory joins them at nationals finished second with 100 points.
MEN
Jeff Chandler led the men’s team overall with a 20th place finish out of 178 runners with a time of 28:03. “I got out pretty slow and I knew they were going to go out pretty fast,” Chandler said. “I was stuck in like 40th position for the first two miles and I had to work my way up. That kind of plays to my weakness and I am usually a front-runner. If I get out fast, then I can hold on and I am not really a mud runner.”
Teammate Ross Renfroe, a junior from Tyler, finished in 51st place as the number two runner for the University with a time of 29:12. He said the muddy conditions of the course helped the runners plan for the course.
“That has been the story this season,” Renfroe said. “We have dealt with muddy courses and there were a lot of good runners today.” “Unfortunately, we came up a little short but it was fun and there were a lot of good runners.”
Hepler said the men exceeded his expectations during the race. “They are a young team and compared to how they ran at the conference, they were just great,” Hepler said. “It was not Ross’ day but he stayed emotionally together and helped the team.”
Philbert Mutuyimana finished his collegiate cross country career with a 55th place finish at regional’s with a time of 29:24, while senior Kirk Hesse finished 36 seconds back in 70th place overall.
“Philbert had a disastrous meet at conference and he bounced back,” Hepler said. “This was also Kirk’s last meet and his goal this year was to make the top seven because he wanted to be here. He was our number seven runner and he finished as our fourth runner. He ran out of his mind and that was a great way for him to go out.”
Will Krogman, Mark Saroni and Javi Arista rounded out the men’s team finishing in 91st, 102nd and 142nd respectively.
[pp_img type="node" title="Holcomb at NCAA Div. III Regionals." caption="
Natalie Holcomb ended a strong season with a 44th place finish out of 189 runners with a time of 25:42. Holcomb finished out the regular season as the American Southwest Conference newcomer of the year.
“I think what helped me was I got a good start,” Holcomb said. “There were so many girls that I just got out before most of them and that is what helped because I did not have to pass a lot of girls.”
Holcomb said the team knew Saturday’s race would be a challenge, but agreed not to be discouraged no matter how it ended. “We did not have any expectations,” Holcomb said. “We went out there and did our best in it and hoped for the best. We have already talked about that we are so ready for next year. We are going to train hard during the offseason.”
Freshmen Jessica Waninger, a freshman from Tyler, rounded out her season with a 61st place finish in a time of 26:08. Waninger, the ASC Freshmen of the Year, said she is disappointed with her performance.
“I ran a crappy race,” she said. “I was terrible and I am not very pleased with myself. I could not move and my legs would not go. I don’t know if it was because of my foot or if I was not strong enough.”
Hepler said the future of the University’s women’s cross-country program is headed in the right direction. “They have the talent to at least get in the top five next semester and they are all back,” he said. “We have some great recruits coming in next semester and we are definitely moving in the right direction.”
Ginny Murphy finished in 82nd place with a time of 26:49, Angela Martinez finished 114th with a time of 27:41. Sophomore Sarah Hankla finished 126th with a time of 28:21, Jessica Ball finished with a time of 29:02 and Baylee Talaska rounded out the team with a time of 29 minutes, 10 seconds.
Copyright © by the Patriot Talon
All content, graphics and images on this site are copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission of the Patriot Talon. All images on this site are for viewing on this site only and may not be downloaded or reproduced without permission.
