Bearkats tune up for season Thursday
9/2/2015 5:08:00 PM | Cross Country, Cross Country
The Sam Houston State men's and women's cross country teams enters its first competition on Thursday with the women running the two-mile race at 6:30 p.m., followed by the men in the three-mile, hosted by Houston Baptist at McGregor Park.
“It's been nice having everyone back,” cross-country coach Jessie Parker said. “By the end of the summer, I start stressing about getting everyone back to work but the athletes did a really good job this summer. We had a large group stay here and train. This is probably the best starting point we've had.”
Sam Houston will compete against the host Huskies as well as area schools Houston and Texas Southern. Several new Bearkats are expected to see race time, sprinkled in with veterans such as fifth-year senior Nicole Aponte on the women's side.
“Tomorrow's race I would compare to a preseason game,” Parker said. “We're running our 4-10 type of athletes and giving the younger athletes and those trying to earn a spot on the travel roster, a chance to go out and compete well.”
The Bearkats spent their summers rigorously training for the season, with the athletes like Evan Arambula, Grant Buley, Colton Stoker and Chris Speaks putting in 80-90 miles a week. Meanwhile, on the women's side, competitors such as Olivia Olguin and Cassidy Allen have put in 60-plus mile weeks.
“It's been a lot of early mornings,” Parker said. “We live in a very warm and humid part of the country so we try to get up before the sun comes up. I know some sports, days after competitions they take off but we have a competition tomorrow evening and we'll be back up Friday morning and they'll have another workout. We have a three-day weekend coming up and they'll run all three days. It's a constant, every day kind of deal.”
Parker says he has been impressed with the leadership on both squads, which makes his job easier as a coach and provides guidance for a pair of teams that have a combined 15 freshmen.
“The leadership amongst the athletes makes it easier on me as a coach where they control themselves as a group and I don't have to police everything,” Parker said. “We're really led by athletes who have been there and done it. I think that takes a lot of pressure off the younger athletes from needing to bring their A-game right away but it also gives them someone to emulate.”
Thursday's competition will be the first of five races leading up to the Southland Championships, hosted by the Bearkats on Friday, Oct. 30 at Kate Barr Ross Memorial Park. Next Saturday, the Kats host a league preview meet at the same location.
For the latest on Sam Houston cross country, follow SHSU_TFXC on Twitter and visit GoBearkats.com.
