Before the Roy Griak Invitational in Falcon Heights, Minnesota on Sept. 24, the women’s cross country team was ranked 30th in the country. The men’s team was ranked 19th at the time. By the time every Pilot runner had crossed the finish line at the end of the race, the women and men found themselves ranked 7th in the nation in cross country.
Since then, the women have climbed two more spots to No. 5, their highest national ranking of all time.
“Unless a catastrophe happens, nationals is expected,” said Rob Conner, coach of the men’s cross country team.
Conner is the most decorated men’s head coach in the athletic department and is in his 26th year with the Pilots. Women’s head coach Ian Soloff has been at the University of Portland for 21 years. Both have been integral parts in building successful teams and both expect their teams to be competing for a title.
With the new rankings and the utmost confidence in his team, Solof expects Nationals as well.
“Now that we’ve shown what we’re capable of, I think nationals is very realistic for us to be there,” Solof said.
While both coaches are confident in their teams to make nationals, it wasn’t always a guarantee at the beginning of the season. But since the women beat seven nationally ranked teams at the Griak Invitational and the men beat eight such teams, they have new found confidence.
Standout runners from the Griak Invitational include redshirt junior Jeff Thies and redshirt sophomore Nick Hauger on the men’s team, and junior Lauren LaRocco and redshirt senior Anne Luijten on the women’s team.
Thies led the Pilots in their victory with a fifth place finish and Hauger finished close behind him in 11th.
LaRocco finished in the top three at the Griak Invitational, and Luijten rounded out the top five, finishing in fifth place.
Aside from the outstanding individual successes, both of these teams pride themselves on community and togetherness. From rooting each other on to finishing together in a pack at a race, both the men’s and women’s teams are more focused on their team goals and achievements than their individual achievements.
“The best thing about Griak was when I finished and turning around to see the rest of my team right behind me,” Hauger said.
For Luijten, she is not only excited about the success of the women’s team.
“The most exciting thing is that we’re both doing well as teams,” Luijten said. “Every single person was over the moon for each other.”
Runners also credit their coaches with their successes.
“He’s everything,” Thies said about coach Conner. “It’s an honor to run for him and he’s a huge reason why I came to the University of Portland.”
“The team isn’t a team without Ian,” LaRocco said.
Improvement is another aspect that both the men’s and women’s teams pride themselves on. On the men’s team, redshirt freshman Caleb Webb showed the coaches his improvement as he finished 25th at the Griak Invitational.
Months of hard work are paying off for these athletes. On average, Thies, Hauger, LaRocco and Luijten run around 80-95 miles a week.
But what is it that drives them to excel? Their teammates.
“Yesterday, Hauger and I ran 18 miles, which is very tough to do alone,” Thies said. “We work as a team to help each other excel and cheer our teammates on.”
The men are set to compete in Adidas Wisconsin on Oct. 14. The women will run in the NCAA pre-nationals on Oc.t 15. The West Coast Conference Championships for both teams will take place on Oct. 28.
