Staff Writer- Alayna Boe
The Gustavus Adolphus Golden Gusties kicked off their cross country season in Sioux Falls, South Dakota this past Friday night. With weather concerns and a big heat wave, this twilight meet started at 9pm. The women kicked off at 9:45, and both men and women ran the 5k course due to heat. The course was packed tight with D1 and D2 competition, but the Gusties held their own and achieved nine personal records.
Placing 16th out of 33, the men’s team had a great night of running. Sophomore Caden Riga led the men’s race and crossed the finish line at 16:29.8 and placed 135th. First-year Matthew Jenneke came across second for the Gusties and his older brother, Senior Luke Jenneke, was close behind with a time of 16:43.5. The final scorers for Gustavus were Sophomore Ray Anderson and Junior Matthew Berge with times of 16:49.5 and 16:50.8, respectively. These scorers got Gustavus 527 points which put them as the third best D3 school at the meet, and better than multiple D2 opponents.
In the men’s race the Gustie pack was very close together. This helped the team immensely with race times and being able to push each other. Being the first meet of the season, this was a true test of the summer mileage from these runners, so having competition for the first time in a while was a good change of pace. Coming to campus two weeks before classes, the cross country team is close and can really push each other during workouts and being committed to the sport, and each other. This is proven by the men having six personal bests in this race alone.
The women’s team also had a great race and showed the grit needed to start at 9:45 at night. They finished 14th overall and were the number one D3 team at the meet. Leading the pack was Sophomore Siiri Anderson with a time of 19:14.9 and a place of 66th overall. Addison Enfield was right behind her classmate with a time of 19:16.1, taking 69th place in the sea of runners. The sophomore class is strong for the Gusties. The third scorer was Sophomore Anna Forbord running a time of 19:44.8 in this 5k race.
Rounding out the scoring for Gustavus was Senior Laura Sunnarborg and Sophomore Anna Gould. They ran 20:13.1 and 20:21.7 and gave the Gusties their 14th place finish. The depth of the sophomore class is deep within this team, Gabbie Boevers had a personal best to start off her second year at Gustavus and Senior Emily Dehn started her last year with a personal best as well. Finishing a cross country race in the hour of 10pm is no easy feat, especially after a three hour bus ride, so these women showed incredible dedication to be able to pull this off.
Being the first race of the season and a shorter course, this was a nice dip into race season for the Gusties. “Though the only difference between a 5k and 6k is about .6 miles, mentally it feels like a different game. Every time I’m getting nervous for a 5k, I just think, “it’s only a 5k, what’s there to be nervous about.” Sophomore Kaia Austin’s take on the course length from this past Friday, “I really enjoy that we have the opportunity to start off our first meet with a 5k. It allows me to remember how to race and give that effort, while also helping the first meet be a little less intimidating. Now that we are done with our first and only 5k of the season, I feel more prepared for our first 6k at St. Olaf in two weeks and am looking forward to the challenge.”
College athletics take a different type of discipline and the fact this was a night race changes a lot. Friday during the day this team still had classes all day before getting on the bus. Some have 8ams, and the ability to stay alert the entirety of the day is amazing discipline. The routine also gets switched up
“I also have a very set routine for how I prepare for a meet the night before a morning race, so having it at night changes that. I get my bag ready the night before, lay my uniform out, braid my hair, and have a snack before bed. With the night race, I did almost all of that day of, not to mention going to a full day of classes prior to leaving. Though it is not a large difference, it varies from how I usually prepare before my race,” Kaia Austin stated. Though the change is subtle, it is still a change in pace and preparation.
The Gusties will be going to the St. Olaf Invitational on September 19th, giving them a couple weeks to put in the work and improve upon this first meet.