By Molly McSweyn |
Students, alumni, parents and faculty gathered in Chiles this afternoon to celebrate and honor the men’s and women’s cross country teams’ impressive finishes at Nationals.
The men’s team finished third in the nation at the NCAA Cross Country Championship on Saturday Nov. 22. The team came in just behind Colorado and Stanford. This is the team’s best finish in program history. Athletic Director Scott Leykam touched on the team far exceeded past finishes.
“The team surpassed the best finish in school history, which was 7th and the team reached the NCAA championship award podium for the first time in school history, signifying the top four national finishes,” Leykam said.
Not only did the Pilots have a strong team showing at the Championships, but the team also had outstanding individual finishes.
Red shirt senior Scott Fauble garnered his third straight All-American honor while placing 12th in the nation on the 10k course with a time of 30:34.4. Fellow senior, Reid Buchanan, finished 12.2 seconds behind Fauble with a time of 30:46.6. This performance earned Buchanan All-American status as well.
For the women’s team, senior Tansey Lystad finished the 6k course with a time of 20:19.4 coming in 15th overall. Lystad also garnered All-American honors and a place in Pilots history, finishing higher than any woman before her.
“I wouldn't be able to do it without these amazing coaches, the athletic department, and of course my teammates who are there every long run, every workout, these girls inspire me everyday and I wouldn't be able to do what I do without them so thank you for your support and I feel very blessed,” Lystad said.
Lystad is the fifth women’s cross country runner to qualify for the NCAA Championship in program history.
At the team’s celebration Fauble accepted the praise of his community while also showing his appreciation for those who helped him get to where he is today.
“An unbelievable number of guys that have come before me have paved the way to the success that we have had this year,” Fauble said. “While only five of us scored at Nationals, it has really been won by the hundreds of guys that have come through the program before me and I am sure the tradition of excellence that we have hopefully created this year will continue due to the coaching experience and the tutelage of Coach Conner.”
Coach Rob Conner has been the program’s head coach for 25 years. This season, he was named the West Region’s Coach of the Year.
“Everything I have learned is from the guys on the team,” Conner said. “I am no physiologist, I am no scientist, but to have the feedback from the great student athletes that we currently have and that we have had over these last 25 years has allowed me to become regarded as a national level coach, it is only on the sweat of everybody that has been in the program.”
The Pilots’ cross country teams are looking forward to next season. The teams have 50 weeks to train until the 2015 Nationals.
“I will guarantee you one thing: we will be back at Nationals even though we are losing five of our top seven because thats what we do,” Conner said.
