The men’s cross country team has seen a lot of improvement since the season started in August. Last season, the team welcomed a large group of runners to the team. With these now-experienced runners, the team has a positive outlook on their season.

“The team is looking good this year. We are a pretty young team but we have some strong talent. The team’s goals for the season are mainly to do the little things that will keep us healthy all season and to get us where we need to be by the conference meet. As far as Conference goes, we are shooting for a top five finish this year because the MIAC is a really strong conference, with the returning National Champs—St. Olaf—and other really strong teams,” Junior Nate Hanson said.

With so much to look forward to this season, the men’s team has their sights set on improving upon their Conference performance from last season.

“Last year, we had a lot of our top guys injured at Conference and so we didn’t do as well as I think we could have. But this year we are changing our training a little and really emphasizing how to take care of ourselves so we don’t get hurt later on in the season, so I think everyone is pretty optimistic about how we will perform this year,” Hanson said.

Even though they only have two meets behind them, the team has already exhibited their talent and the men are just starting to realize how much potential they have.

“Our first meet went really well. It was our Alumni meet—the Gustie Invitational—and the alumni always have a strong showing, which makes them really hard to beat. But we were closer to beating them this year than we have been in previous years. Sophomore Thomas Knobbe took the win in the race which was really exciting for the whole team,” Hanson said.

Last weekend, the team traveled to Pella, Iowa to compete in the Central Dutch Invitational. They placed third out of seven teams. It was their first 8k length race of the season.

Success has been apparent in the preseason training and in their first couples races.

Returning teammates have noticed huge differences since the season started.

“Preseason was awesome this year. A lot of guys put in a ton of mileage over the summer so it was fun to see some huge improvements from last year in our preseason workouts. This is definitely the most committed and focused I’ve ever seen the team in my four years at Gustavus,” Senior Captain Matt Carlson.

The team may be showing improvements, but they are also staying focused on their Conference goal. Having a younger team hasn’t hurt their progress—if anything it’s made the team stronger, according to Head Coach Dale Bahr.

“We’re really at a turning point this season with the men’s team. Last year we brought in a lot of talented First-years, which was great, but this year they have really stepped up and taken on some more of the leadership roles, which will onlyhelp the team,” Bahr said.

“This year’s team is pretty young but we’ve got a solid group of Sophomores that adapted extremely well to college running last year and they’re looking to make some big strides this season and help lead our squad. I think with the amount of work that everyone put in over the summer and all of the energy and excitement that I’ve seen during the beginning of the season, we have the potential to have a very successful season,” Carlson added.

The next two weeks provide time for the team to log more miles, hard workouts, and training in time for the St. Olaf Invitational, which will be held on Saturday, Sept. 20.

-Erika Clifton