Saturday, September 26, 2015

CCSU/Ted Owen: General comments

On the bus ride back from Stanley Quarter Park in New Britain, CT, right now. A glorious early fall day for XC. We knew there was change in the wind, literally, when we stepped off the bus to cooler breezes than we have felt all season. It was perfect for a nice cross country meet. The CCSU course is excellent for spectators. There are two loops -- the "Pond" loop and the "Woods" loop. The pond loop is basically flat and winding around a pond; the woods loop features a steep uphill, followed by a steep downhill, with some uneven footing -- true cross country. It's kind of like a figure 8, so we can see our runners frequently and get mile splits for all races. Good stuff!

The women run the pond loop, followed by the woods, followed by the pond. The men run the pond, woods, pond, woods, pond. The women's course is spot on 5k and relatively fast. The men's course is a bit long and a bit more challenging -- especially climbing that woods loop a second time.

Both teams finished third, with our athletes getting great racing experience. In particular, our young men's squad got some excellent competition and fought for scoring spots that they often would not have an opportunity to do. We ran a group of six freshmen, four sophomores, one junior and one senior. For the women, the splits were 10 juniors, four freshmen, three sophomores and three seniors. A good day's work at a great meet. Results to follow.

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