Sunday in Terre Haute
November 23, 2008 10:02 PM | General
T’was the night before the NCAA Cross Country Championships …
A cool breeze and bright sunshine welcomed the West Virginia University cross country team on its second day in Terre Haute, Ind., on the eve of the NCAA Championship race.
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| The team relaxes on the bus after dinner early Sunday evening.
Allison Hoehn photo |
The team had an hour-long workout on the course Sunday morning. CBS College Sports was there setting up for its live broadcast of both the men’s and women’s races. Tent city was erected - a tent for each participating team - and the course was a flurry of activity in preparation for tomorrow’s races.
My roommate for the trip, volunteer assistant coach Ilora Cipolhe, started talking about the last lap bell. Runner Keri Bland loves the last lap of the race because that is when she always ‘kicks’ for a fast-paced, hard ending. In cross country, there is no official last lap bell so Bland suggested to Cipolhe that if someone was there with a bell the team would know that they were on the last 1,500-meters. Sean Cleary suggested the team get a bell and Cipolhe was all over it. Bland said when she heard the bell for the first time at regionals she was like a bull when they first see red - full sprint mode.
After the team finished their workout they boarded the bus and returned to the hotel to get showered and take a nap. The team had some down time - some of them went to the mall, some went to lunch and others went out with their families now in town for the race. The coaches and staff went to meetings with other coaches and media members where policies and procedures were explained and discussed.
After the meeting, Cleary and the student-athletes who ran in the ECAC Championship yesterday arrived just in time for dinner. On the way to a nice Italian restaurant, Keri Bland worked hard to prove to Coach that she had been working on the infamous Rubik’s Cube - a fascination that began when freshman runner Sarah-Anne Brault proved she could solve the puzzle in less than three minutes.
Dinner was delicious and relaxing and after the team finished their meals, it was back to the hotel. The seven runners for tomorrow’s championship race met with Cleary and assistant coach Jen Davis for a pep talk and race planning, while the rest of the team were rounded up by senior leader Alison Spiker. Alison’s meeting was to explain to the younger runners what to expect tomorrow while explaining the importance of team spirit.
So as the entire team departed from their respective meetings and headed back to their bedrooms, the athletes’ excitement was matched only by their determination to improve on last year’s ninth-place finish at the NCAA Championship. As the team goes to bed tonight, they will not have sugar plums but rather the last lap bell ringing in their heads.
A few notes …
Last year WVU placed ninth at the NCAAs. Asselin finished 14th with a time of 20:39, while Bland was the second Mountaineer to cross the finish line in 23rd place with a time of 20:58. Asselin and Bland were named first team All-Americans, marking the first time the program has ever had multiple All-Americans in the same year.
Let's Go Mountaineers!
