For the SUNYAC Championships Nov. 1, the cross-country teams are focusing on high intensity training and rest to prepare.
Head coach Andrew Krug said the team will use the time between races, two weeks total, for high-intensity runs and to rest some of the runners who have been dealing with injuries. He said the team will focus more on shorter, high-intensity drills to prepare for SUNYACs.
Krug said he would like the men to finish in the top six, which would be an improvement on their eighth place finish a year ago. He said he believes they have a better chance because injured runners are returning and running well.
Freshman Nathan Doyle is exceeding expectations, and Krug said he hopes Doyle can bring home accolades.
Doyle said his focus for the SUNYAC race is to break 26 minutes, which would be a personal record.
“I feel pretty capable of that because I was something like 14 seconds off last race,” Doyle said.
In the last race, the UAlbany Invitational, Doyle and sophomore Ethan Vinson were the top two Cardinal runners finishing with times of 26:13 and 26:54 respectively.
Vinson has been one of the team’s top runners this year, consistently finishing well for the Cards.
Vinson said his season has gone so well because he was dedicated to his training during the offseason, and he feels the quality of his running has improved. He said he expects a good race from both teams and he hopes to achieve a personal record.
Krug said the women could finish in the top five at the SUNYAC Championships because they finished sixth last year.
Junior Megan Schweizer said the SUNYACs will be interesting because it will be the second 6K race of the season for the women.
Schweizer finished the last race with a time of 20:22, which earned her a 60th-place finish in a race full of tough Division III and some Division I opponents.
Schweizer, who is also one of the women’s team captains, said the team did well in the first 6K race, but she thinks the team will do better because the runners are prepared well and the cooler weather should work in their favor.
Krug said he expects his team to run a good race and surprise a few teams with its performance.
Email Matt Sheehan at matthew.sheehan@cardinalpointsonline.com.
