With close to one month left before fall semester, the cross country team is getting into gear for another challenging season. The men's team will need to hang on strong to defend its NCAA 5th Place Title, and the women will be giving it their all to strive for more after finishing 5th in the SEC this past season.
What better way to start off a new season than with a new coach. However, next season's coach has not officially been named. Former coach Peter Watson still had a few things to say about the men's and women's teams. "Kids here are very dedicated and professional in all their actions," Watson said. "They sacrifice a lot in order to be top level athletes."
The men's team will work to avenge their 2008 loss to Alabama and win the SEC championship this season.
"We have the power trio of Felix Kiboiywo, 2008 Cross Country All-American and two-time Regional Champion, Girma Mecheso, 2008 Cross Country All-American, 2008 SEC Cross Country Champion, and 2009 10K All American, and Elkanah Kibet, 2008 Cross Country All-American," said Jeff Sanders, a sophomore undecided major on the men's team.
"They are returning to finish strong and high in every meet and to repeat the one-two-three sweep at the Regional Championship this coming November." Sanders said.
Although Watson will no longer coach for Auburn's cross country teams, he said he still has his opinions about what might come from the season ahead.
"Expectations for next year with both teams will be quite high especially with the men, who were fifth in the country last fall," Watson said. "I would expect them to be at worst in the top 10, but they should be in contention for a top three trophy. This group is unreal in talent and dedication."
The men and women prepare all summer long for the fall season. The athletes run somewhere between 80-110 miles a week, Watson said. The focus is on building up the miles. The athletes spend the summer running for mileage and not necessarily worrying about time, Cathryn Albright, a junior in elementary eduction on the women's team, said.
"The summer is about getting aerobically strong; when the season comes is when we work on getting sharp," Watson said.
The teams use the summer as a break from the intense running to build stamina for the big season ahead.
"We are hoping to come into August now at our peak shape and stay healthy from now until the end of November," Sanders said.
The arrival of a new coach brings the arrival of new methods and new ideals to the cross country teams.
"It will be a transition from what we are used to to what our new coach wants," Sanders said. "We are really looking forward to the new challenges and experiences that await us this summer and fall."
With or without a new coach, a new season leaves room for new expectations.
"This year we are hoping to make even a bigger statement than last year," Sanders said. "Our goals are to win the SEC Championship and bring home a trophy from the national meet."
But whether it's win or lose, Auburn's cross country teams understand the importance of being a team.
"It's a smaller group of us, so we have all become really close, and we work really well together," Albright said. The teams use their closeness as a driving force to help them succeed.
"We are a family and we work together to make the team better, not just ourselves," Sanders said.
Men's and women's cross country teams start competition in September.
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