This past weekend, the SFU men and women’s cross country teams travelled to Montana State University Billings to compete in the West Region Championships. Despite fighting harsh weather conditions, including snow, both Clan teams were able to place second. This marks the first time since 2014 that both the men and women’s cross country teams will be competing together at the National Championships.
“It was inspiring, for sure,” said head coach Brit Townsend when interviewed by The Peak. “We haven’t been able to qualify both teams [together] in the last four years [ . . . ] so this was pretty special.”
It certainly was. For the men, Junior Pierre-Louis Detourbe (31:06.36) led the way with a sixth place finish in the 10km race. Seniors Sean Miller (31:06.93) and Rowan Doherty (31:23.88) finished seventh and 12th respectively, while Junior Carlos Vargas (31:35.05, 17th) and Sophomore Aaron Ahl (31:40.81, 21st) wrapped up the top five runners on the men’s side.
All five runners finished within 37 seconds of each other, which is exactly the type of finish the Clan were hoping for, according to Townsend. The sixth and seventh runners were also important to the Clan’s success, even though their times didn’t count towards SFU’s final score. Sophomores Chris Sobczak (32:06.06) and Thomas Gallagher (32:19.20) both had top-50 finishes, which may have displaced the fifth runner on competing teams.
This strong finish by the men’s team, according to Townsend, motivated the women’s team to their second place finish. The team was not expected to finish as high as second, but despite the adversity, came up with arguably their best run of the season when it mattered most.
As has been the case all year, Sophomore Olivia Willet (21:18.31, fourth), Freshman Sophia Kaiser (21:26.04, seventh), and Senior Addy Townsend (21:41.21, 13th) led the way for the women in their 6km race. Junior Chelsea Ribeiro (21:58.97, 28th) and Senior Sophie Dodd (22:10.75, 33rd) wrapped up the top five finishes for the Clan. Impressively, all five runners finished within a minute of each other.
The team managed to narrowly defeat Chico State for the second-place finish, who were ranked #1 in the West Region for the majority of the season. The impressive finishes by Willet, Kaiser and Townsend were the difference, as all five Chico State runners finished in the top 22, but none finished in the top 13.
“We’re just local athletes working really hard,” said Townsend, noting the perseverance of the team despite the harsh weather. The team made a goal of making nationals back in training camp, and they were not going to let anything stop them. “It does feel like a best ever season, overall, at least since we’ve been in the NCAA.”
What’s next:
The Clan will regroup and prepare for the National Tournament in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 1. Coach Townsend has set top ten finishes for both teams as a realistic goal, but believes that both teams can do better, especially the men. “I think the men honestly have the ability to come in the top six if they do everything right, and that would be their best ever [finish]. That’s what we’re looking for – the best ever.”
