By Pat Tintle
Staff Writer
After a last-place finish among Division I schools at the National Catholic Championships two weeks ago, the men’s and women’s cross country teams are moving forward to the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa.
The invitational will consist of 141 men’s teams in three different races. The Bonnies, fittingly, will run the Brown Race with 46 other schools, including Canisius, Niagara and Atlantic 10 rival George Washington.
“Some great ones like Princeton and Temple will be there, as well as teams that we are close to and have beaten in the last year or so like Niagara, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Gettysburg,” senior Chris Spiker said.
Tough competition has not changed the Bonnies’ practice routines leading up to the race. It has been business as usual, according to Spiker.
“Workouts the week before a meet are tricky because you want to work hard without tiring yourself out by the end of the week,” Spiker said. “It’s also important to not hold off on fast running too much before a meet because you don’t want to feel sluggish before a race. Coach Mac gives us the same workouts earlier in the week, but our easy runs are slower and shorter on a race week.”
As the season has progressed, Head Coach Bob Macfarlane has focused his team on speed training.
“We have done more speed workouts and end almost all of our workouts with three to six 200-meter repeats,” Spiker said. “We’ve built a base of endurance mileage earlier in the year, and now, we are getting more speed in as we get closer to A-10s.”
In the Bonnies’ last trip to Bethlehem, the team finished 46th, dead last. But with a men’s roster now made up of 10 upperclassmen, the team is looking to change its reputation.
“We are a drastically different team from the 2011 team that finished last place at Paul Short,” Spiker said. “All of us have two more years of experience, and we have far more depth now with the five underclassmen.”
Even if the Bonnies are an afterthought to the other competing schools, the team is confident in its ability to stay tough in races, according to Spiker.
“We want to beat the same teams we’ve beaten at other races and would also like to hang around with George Washington, one of the A-10 teams we are close to,” Spiker said.
As a senior athlete, Spiker said he has high expectations of himself going into the Paul Short Invitational.
“Personally, I would like to run close to my personal best of 28:47, and I would also like to place in the top seven for the first time as a Bonnie,” Spiker said. “I’ve had a great season so far, and it would feel incredible to have a great race at an historic meet like the Paul Short Invitational.”
