Championship season is here for the Valparaiso University men's and women's cross country teams, which will race in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships on Friday at Angel Mounds Cross Country Course in Evansville, Ind.
The women's 6k race will begin at 10:30 a.m. followed by the men's 6k at 11:30. A link to live results for the meet is available on ValpoAthletics.com. Championship season continues on Friday, Nov. 14 with the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, also in Evansville.
"This time of year is probably my favorite time of year," Director of Track & Field and Cross Country
Vincent Walker said. "Going into championship season feels like Christmas, your birthday, the Super Bowl and all of the holidays wrapped into one. When you hit your taper, you're feeling good all of the time and the workouts are shorter and sweeter. That's a fun feeling because all of the sudden people don't feel as sluggish and they feel unstoppable. When they're foaming at the mouth to race, it gets you excited to coach."
Freshman
Samantha Rowley (Barrington, Ill. / Barrington) has burst onto the scene this fall, most recently cracking the program record book in the 6k with a time of 21:57.13 (sixth in program history) at the Bradley Pink Classic.
"Her transition to college has been unbelievable," Walker said. "I think each week, she's kind of shocking herself. She's out there having fun with it. She's a big student of the sport, and she enjoys being around the team and her friends. She's really good at rolling with the punches. When you have that mindset, you run relaxed and free."
On the men's side, junior
Karson Hollander (Crystal Lake, Ill. / Crystal Lake) has enjoyed a strong season including a personal-best 8k of 24:19.76 at the Bradley Pink Classic, improving his time that already ranked second in the program record book and notching another top-10 finish.
"The big thing for Karson is learning patience," Walker said. "Last year, we talked about being a little bit more tactical in races, and he made some really good steps there in both track and cross. Learning patience was huge for him, and now going into the conference championship, he's stacked a bunch of different tools in his toolbox. He knows he can get out slowly and be successful or if guys go out hot, they aren't going to break him."
Other individuals to watch this week include redshirt sophomore
Laetitia Raoult (Guingamp, France [Florida International]), sophomore
Kensington Black (Franklin, Ohio / Franklin Senior) and senior
Joseph Scheele (Mahomet, Ill. / Mahomet-Seymour).
"On the men's side, we have a really tight group of runners three through five, and our success is going to be very dependent upon them," Walker said. "Historically, we've struggled to have that depth, but now anyone from our third to seventh could be in the top five on a given day. I think we're really going to surprise some people."
