Cross Country teams poised for success despite the unknown

After being rained out last weekend, the Augustana men's and women's cross country teams are headed for stiff competition in Fayetteville, Ark., according to head coach Tracy Hellman.

"I think so far the year has been going well," Hellman said, "but it's hard to get a feeling with just one competition.  We should really know where we stand after this weekend."

After placing first in the Roy Griak Invitational, the men look to follow the victory with another strong showing at the Chili Pepper Festival.

Senior Matt Braithewaite, who won Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) runner of the week for his twelfth-place finish, led the team.

"Matt had a standout season last year, but suffered some health problems during track," Hellman said.  "We were able to sort that out, and he's back on track.  He's running as well, if not better, than last year."

Other runners the team will count on are fifth-year senior Daniel Black and junior Travis Beniak.

"Daniel showed up in the best shape of his life," Hellman said, "and Travis has been running with that top group and showing he can compete.  We have a really deep team this season."

Adding to the depth is senior Tom Karbo, who, after spending the summer running in Norway, has been taking a few weeks off and working on getting back into shape.

Augustana's strong core of runners, however, will be without senior Hal Lange, who suffered a non-athletic related accident and is out for the season.

"He's a very talented young man," Hellman said.  "It's unfortunate he won't get to finish the season.  I think he would have helped us out a great deal."

On the women's side of the sport, Hellman is excited to have three runners that could compete for top spots in most events.

Freshmen Runa Falch and Kristin Brondbo were not able to run last season due to NCAA rules, but are two runners that could contend for All-American status, according to Hellman.

"In my opinion, they are two of the top runners in Division II," Hellman said.

Another All-American contender is Kyle Blakeslee, who finished forty-first at last year's national tournament, and placed eighth at the Roy Griak Invitational.

"We lost a lot of seniors with last year's team," Hellman said, "but we have better kids that can place higher in bigger meets.  That will help us a great deal."

The team placed fifth overall at the Roy Griak, but Hellman said the place-finish was because the team didn't run most of their top runners.

"We are a little thin this year compared to the past," Hellman said, "but I think our quality is better."

The team has normally run at least three meets by this time in their season, but Hellman has waited longer to start because of a late national tournament date.

Last week's race, the Tim Young Open, was cancelled due to weather, furthering the idea that Arkansas will be a race to discover the unknown.

Normally nationals is during November, but this year's race has been pushed back to Dec. 4.

"Our practices have been going really well," Hellman said, "so hopefully that can continue once we start competing weekly and carry over late in the season."