On October 28th, the men and women’s cross country teams head to Warrenville, Illinois for the CCIW Championships. Both teams have had a lot of success this year, finishing among the top schools in their respected races.
Even though the race is over a week away, both teams have their minds focused on the Championships and want to come away with a successful outcome.
Junior captain of the women’s team, Carol Garcia, has high expectations for the team.
“I expect us to be one of the teams to chase after in the CCIW championships. I say we definitely have a shot of at least being in the top 3 this year,” Garcia said.
With high expectations comes a great mentality, and that’s something Garcia also touched on.
“Cross country is such a mental sport. I think we all need to be competitive and have that ‘never backing down’ mentality that is so crucial in a sport like cross country.”
After finishing last year’s CCIW Championships in a tie for fourth, the women’s team is looking to this mentality to better last year’s results.
The men’s team has a similar mindset, but they also want to use the race for a different purpose.
Senior captain Mitchell Johnson explained what that purpose is.
“Our goal is simply to celebrate the cross country season and hopefully come away with lots of individual personal records. This will build our confidence for the final races of the year including the JV Luther Cup and Regionals,” Johnson said.
Johnson put a lot of emphasis on their preparation for the Championships, and how it’s going to pay off in a big way.
“We have had some phenomenal workouts the past few weeks culminating in a first-place team finish at the UW Oshkosh Invitational. The guys are stepping up in big ways, and I think we will see this pay off at the conference meet,” said Johnson.
Once again, he put emphasis on races beyond the CCIW Championships, such as Regionals.
“Ultimately, the CCIW Championships are further preparation for Regionals- the meet we want to be in peak shape for.”
With goals for the CCIW Championships and beyond, the Cross Country teams know what it’s going to take to make this a successful end to the season.