This weekend on Saturday, Nov. 8, the Shawnee State University men’s and women’s cross country team travels to the University of Rio Grande to yet again compete in the River States Conference Championship, possibly for the last time before SSU athletics transfers out of the NAIA and into the NCAA Division II Mountain East Conference.
With start times of 10:30 a.m. for the women and 11:30 a.m. for the men, a relatively reasonable time to prepare in the morning for both teams may allow for a stronger performance. On top of this, the predicted forecast for these times of the day will be partly cloudy conditions with temperatures ranging from the high 50s to the low 60s.
Both teams have put up amazing performances in recent years. The men’s team finished first overall the previous two years, and the women’s team finished runner-up both years as well, so expectations are high for another dominant performance. One of the men’s athletes, Jerry O’Dell commented that he “truly believed in his capabilities” and that the team has “put in a lot of hard work and determination. We are going for first place for the third year in a row.”
Juniper Allen, a member of the women’s team, also expressed confidence.
“I believe that our team has more promise this year than the previous years, and with that comes higher expectations,” she said. “The heightened pressure is a privilege, and this team treats it as such.
O’Dell added that “mental steps taken is just being around each other and trying not to worry much and focus on the important things” when it came to being prepared for this Saturday.
Director of the cross country and track program Conner Flynn has full confidence in the abilities of his athletes. While this might add to the pressure placed upon those competing, Flynn stated that he expects “both teams to compete for the conference title.” He added that he is “looking forward that our athletes will accept the challenge.”
Any student or alumni who wants to cheer on their schools’ representatives has a chance to do so since the University of Rio Grande is just an hour away, a shorter drive compared to other schools in the conference.
