September 27, 2005
SPORTSNew faces lead MCC cross country in a new direction
Beginning the season with a brand new team of athletes, the cross country team is surprising everybody, including itself, with its performance so far.
The team, comprising both the women’s and men’s squads, is larger than normal because of the recruiting efforts of Michelle Resendez and Chris DeShazo; no runners returned from the 2004 team. According to coach Clyde Resendez, the size of the team was a concern initially. But the team has, “come together really well and is continuing to show improvement day-after-day,” he said.
Since the launch of the new season, the team has participated in three meets, with several of the athletes placing in the top five positions.
The women’s squad even placed first in the AzTech Open 5K in Phoenix on Sept. 10 and are ranked No. 4 overall in the NJCAA polls.
“We have a good core group on both sides,” said Resendez. “On the ladies side Coralee Choules, Jamie Benally, Diana Pacheco, Emily Hartman, and Valerie Dvorak have been our top five through the first two meets this year. Gabrielle Francis, Tania Santamaria, Ericka Brinkman, and Ruby Espinoza are showing a lot of promise and could potentially be in the top five once the Region Championships rolls around in late October. The guys have been equally as impressive, as the top five has been switching around each week, creating a bit of intra-team competition and drive for each individual to improve.”
The two genders have been combined into one program, practicing and traveling as one team,with the only difference being the men race eight kilometers and the women race five kilometers.
This year the team will be competing in seven regular season meets. The NJCAA Region Championship meet on Oct. 24 will determine if the team will compete at the National Championship a few weeks later in Lawrence, Kan. The team must finish in the top five to qualify for the National Meet.
The team also had the opportunity to travel to San Diego, on Sept. 17 to participate in the Aztec Invitational. The women finished fifth overall, while the men came in sixth.
Coaches Clyde and Michelle Resendez believe running is a year-round sport and began training for this season two weeks after the end of last season, continuing through the summer.
Regular season practices are daily from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., in addition to running 30 minutes to one hour in the mornings.
When asked how the team will perform in upcoming events, Resendez said, “With such a young team it is hard to say. Individuals have shown me flashes of good things to come. With each race comes experience. As the season matures, we believe that their running will also mature, ultimately running faster than even the athletes thought they were capable of.”
According to the coaches, the only requirement to run cross country is the desire to be the best athlete an individual can be. It looks like these athletes have certainly met that and may even surpass everyone’s expectations.