Maurice Buckner
Staff Writer
Cameron University’s Cross Country team is gearing up for the start of the spring season.
Last year, the Aggies finished in the top 10 at each event, to include nabbing a pair of third place finishes at the University of Central Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University and set a new school record in the 800-meter and 1500-meter.
The accolades continued with the Aggies ranking second in conference, three runners being named Conference Runner of the Week, one All Conference runner and finishing fourth at the conference meet.
Junior Thomas Toth, junior Steve Orwel and freshman Methuselah Lagart are seasoned runners who have returned to the start-line. Sophomore Grant Wignall and freshman Raul Correa, who will be redshirting, will accompany them.
This season comes with a new focus and high expectations. Coach Kreger said: “For this spring exhibition season, we are focusing our attention on individual events that range from 800-meters to 10,000-meters. I am expecting new school records in some of those events.”
Though last year held much success, Kreger said he is still able to find room for improvement.
“This semester we took a big step in our program and changed some major components to our training regiment,” Kreger said. “So far it has shown great results, and we have been getting great feedback.
“The spring semester is a chance for us to try new things and experiment more as we have more flexibility and time compared to the fall season.”
Grades are another area coach Kreger saw need for improvement.
“A big goal for us this semester [is] to keep working hard in the classroom to boost our team GPA which is our goal every semester,” he said.
The major challenges the Aggies face this season are cohesion and motivation. Because the runners will be spending more time working on their individual events, they will have less time to gel.
“This semester our biggest challenge is to keep the team focused and working together as a team, even though everybody is doing different workouts and training based on their respected distances they are racing,” Kreger said. “With our roster changes this spring, it has caused some of [the] guys to train more alone without training partner.
“As long as each athlete stays strong [and] focuses on [his] main goal, it should not hinder them.”
The rewards for doing well at a race are not given out during the spring like they are in the fall.
“The spring season is an exhibition season and not a championship season like in the fall,” Kreger said. “It sometimes is not as motivating and not as satisfying as the fall as there is not as much recognition or an end goal in site for the athletes other than just running a fast time. Other than that, we do not face any challenges.”
The Cross Country team’s first race will take place at Tarleton State University March 6.