By: Mateo De Dalmases
The SFU women will be the only team representing SFU at the 2017 cross country nationals held next week in Evansville, Indiana.
After both teams prepared consciously for the most important race of the season, given that it’s the race that determines who gets the passport to nationals, the SFU cross country teams both had impressive performances at the regional meet in Monmouth, Oregon. Both teams placed fourth in their respective races, competing against a very deep field, given that the West Region is one of the most competitive regions across the entire National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II (NCAA DII).
The women were the first ones to race and had a very good performance in which they fulfilled the expectation and goal of qualifying for nationals that they had in mind. Julia Howley led the team again, with an impressive sixth place position. Howley has led the team in every race this year and is about to finish her last and most successful season of her university career. SFU is definitely going to miss Howley’s talent and sacrifice in following seasons.
Another senior, Miryam Bassett, was the second woman to cross the finish line in a strong 17th position. Bassett had an irregular start to the season but has shown in the last few years that she can really peak for the end, which is when it matters the most. Addy Townsend and Olivia Willett were the next two SFU women to cross the line together at 33rd and 34th, respectively. Chelsea Ribeiro closed the scoring team, coming in 37th. Sophie Dodd (74th) and Paige Nock (117th) completed the team.
On any other year, with the same results, both men and women would have earned a spot in the national championship. This year, however, the NCAA implemented a new system that changed the qualifications to reach the championship. The details of the system are complex, but the whole point of it is to supposedly favour teams in stronger regions in order to have the best teams of the NCAA DII in the national championship. The system was highly controversial as it resulted in only three teams from the West Region (SFU’s region and the strongest of the entire field) qualifying, while there were other regions who got up to seven teams.
The most frustrating part of it all for the men is that they had one of the best races of the season, and definitely their most successful regional championship yet with four of the five scorers in the top 25. The individuals who got in the top 25 were honoured with the all-region credit, and these were Oliver Jorgensen (15th), Sean Miller (16th), Rowan Doherty (19th), and Mateo De Dalmases (25th). Carlos Vargas completed the scoring team in a solid 46th position and was followed by Dawson Ribeiro (88th) and Chris Sobczak (101th).
The women’s cross country team will be back in action next week for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. This will be the last race of the cross country season. The championships will take place on Saturday, November 18.
