The cross country teams have finished their regular season meets and will attend the Southland Conference Championships Nov. 1.
The women’s team has only had one finish lower than third place the entire season, when the team took 11th place at the Chile Pepper Festival on Oct. 4. They took first place in their first meet of the season, the West Texas Collegiate Open, and their last, the Incarnate Word Invitational.
The Wildcats have high hopes going into the Conference Championships because of how well their season has gone.
“I think we will rank top three at conference,” said Michaela Hackett, sophomore from Cranston, Rhode Island. “That’s our goal right now, and looking at how the season has gone so far, there is no reason why we won’t be able to fight for that spot.”
Sophomore Diana Garcia-Munoz, from Phoenix, has led the Wildcats this season and has taken the place as champion in two of the five races they have competed in.
The men’s team has finished in second, fourth, sixth, seventh and 20th during the season.
They have had a lot of success with the help of Daniel Block, senior from Saskatchewan, Canada.
“The captains on our team have set a great example for the freshman, and I look up to them as role models for what I want to achieve in the future,” said Ryan Cleary, freshman from Prosper. “I try to mirror the work ethic of our lone senior, Daniel Block, so that I can reach the level of success he has achieved. I have learned that you have to adapt to change, and you have to keep an open head.”
As the Wildcats head into championships, they are keeping in mind and competing for their assistant coach, Drew Graham, who was in an accident in which he suffered a serious spinal cord injury while visiting Colorado.
“One of the most important things I’ve learned this cross season is to never take the ability to run for granted,” said Taylor Ochs, junior from Midland. “Everyone on the team really wants to honor God with the opportunity that we have to compete. Having our coach who’s a world class distance runner in the condition that he’s in really hurts to think about, and it really makes me want to run every race and workout the best I can.”
