After losing a running spike on mile one of his first 8k, first-year runner Zach Batt knew there was no turning back.
“As runners we are pretty used to running through adverse conditions, whether it be heat and humidity or wind and rain,” said Batt. “Losing my shoe was not the biggest worry of the race. Plus, it was kind of fun running in a bright pink racing sock.”
Despite the bad luck, Batt finished the race with a respectable 26:09.3, helping men’s cross-country place seven out of 28 teams in the Calvin Knights Invitational this past Saturday in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The women’s team had a similar showing, placing six out of 25 teams for their 5k race.
“That Calvin meet is always a meet that is kind of what I'd call [our first] full distance race where we can really get a chance to see where we’re at and how we’re doing,” said Head Coach Kori Stroffregen. "I was really pleased with both teams."
The program was coming off the Titan Opener in Illinois, a meet where both teams placed first overall. However, the teams ran significantly shorter distances, with the men running a 5k and the women running a 2k.
At Calvin, the men’s team was led by top-forty individual finishes by first-year Paul Christian (, 26:01.7), sophomore Polo Burguete ( 26:09.1) and Batt. Senior Paul Watts (27:01.4) and Kevin Kenney (27:30.9) rounded things up for the Tigers in the four and five spots.
“We had a really solid team effort," said Kenney. "The course was tough with the hills, but fast tempoed. Our 5-12 runners were all pretty close together, we had a really good pack.”
On the women’s side, the Tigers were paced by senior Heather O’Brien (18:41.1) and junior Claudia Monnett (18:46.8), both of whom placed in the top 20. Like the men, the women’s team also had top-forty finishes in junior Emma MacAnally (19:05.3) and first-year Megan Ozog (19:06).
“Our women are very strong right now through our first four runners, and of course, we score five runners so we need a number five to really do well,” said Stoffregen.
For this race, it was junior Becca Conley, who finished 75 overall with a time of 19:55.7.
“I think our team has a lot of potential to get better,” said first-year Megan Ozog. “We train really hard and I think we’ll peak when we need to. We have great packs, which is important for cross country.”
Both teams will look to carry their strong finishes into this afternoon, when the team will be running in Terra Haute at Indiana Intercollegiates.