XC Finishes First and Second
By Lauren Sauter
Sports Associate

Friday, October 17, while all the hippies were out camping in the mountains, and all the slackers were boozing it up in Vegas, the men’s and women’s cross country teams were making history. Chino was the place; awesome was the race. I’m talking about the SCIAC multi-duals, in which Pomona-Pitzer raced with the other seven SCIAC teams. What multi-dual means is that each team is scored head-to-head with one other team. In need of further explanation? Too bad, I’ve got an article to write. This meet was the first real indication of who will go home as SCIAC champions and who will go home as SCIAC not-champions. But what happened? Read on to find out.

The SCIAC meet yielded some favorable results for P-P, with the men’s cross country team finishing first and the women’s team coming in second. It was 85-95 degrees and breezy. The skinny runners lined up in their teeny tiny shorts, stretching and taking a few final warm-up sprints. They knew that the next 6 kilometers (women) or 8 kilometers (men) would either be glorious or not-so-glorious. The gun went off, and...okay, you get the idea.

Men’s cross country has had a superstar season, going into this year’s SCIAC multi-dual meet as the favorite. And those boys delivered, placing first against CMS, Occidental, Caltech, La Verne, Cal Lutheran, Whittier and Redlands. Now take a moment to appreciate that. When you’re done, appreciate this: Crosby Freeman ’06 got second overall with a time of 26:34.80. I don’t know much about kilometers, but damn. Placing fourth was Will Leer ’07 at 27:24.00, followed in seventh place by Nate DeFelice ’04, with a time of 27:42.50. Finishing up the top five for the Sagehens were Golden Krishna ’05 at 27:54.00 and David Marshall ’05 at 28:03.00. More excitement is on the way this Saturday: The SCIAC Championships! Currently ranked first, the men just may come home amidst great hurrah and celebration with the 2003 SCIAC championship title.

Women’s cross country is quick as ever, holding their own in SCIAC with a number two standing behind CMS. Amy Rapp ’06 finished the 6k race in sixth place with a time of 24:27.40, and teammate Nika Strezlecka ’06 quickly followed in seventh place at 24:31.40. The top five was rounded out by Isa Barth-Rogers ’05 (24:45.20), Susie Roley ’04 (24:53.20) and Stefanie McDougall ’04 (25:44.80). They too will be competing this Saturday for the great SCIAC championship in La Mirada.

This story isn’t just about cross country. It’s about how hard work pays off. It’s about being young, having an incredible level of fitness, and the guts to push yourself to win. Cross country runners have to sacrifice a lot. Especially this year, when the SCIAC championships fall on the day after Harwood Halloween, the biggest and most fun party ever known to humankind. They will be fast asleep in their little beds, while the rest of us are having a ribald good time, getting drunk as college students and falling down in the street.

I spoke with Freeman regarding the previous and upcoming SCIAC meets and he modestly remarked that the team had high hopes. He then revealed to me a top-secret voodoo ritual of the men’s team, which may explain their recent success. Although I am not at liberty to reveal the details, I will say it involves drums, dancing, and “Mmm-Bop,” the hit Hanson tune.

Leer, who had a remarkable performance on Saturday, could not be reached for comment. Had I talked to him, I imagine he would have said something like this: “It was a tough race, but I was really pushed on by my teammates. I love cross country! Mmm-Bop!”

Looks like I’m going to have to talk about the Grand Prix. The first few days, we got the warnings from the Dean of Campus Life, Matt Taylor. We laughed at the people wearing surgical masks (not doctors). What is decidedly less funny is that I’m wearing a surgical mask right now, so shut up. One obstacle the cross country runners have faced is the decreased air quality caused by the smoke and ash from the flaming hills. They’ve been forced inside for a few workouts, and it’s difficult to say what will happen in the crucial week before the SCIAC Championship meet. In this case, the deeper meaning is do not play with fire.