Johnnie cross country runs toward MIAC finish line

The St. John’s cross country team went to Pennsylvania for their Pre-Nationals meet on Oct. 7 where they ran against a handful of the country’s best cross country squads. With the season winding down, the team is still preparing as the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championship meet approaches in two weeks on Oct. 17 in Northfield, Minn. where they will be running against other competitive schools.

The team finished 20th out of the 38 teams in Pennsylvania and had impressive individual performances. Out of all runners in Dickinson’s Pre-National Meet, senior Lloyd Young placed 21st out of the 377 participants timed at 25:25. The next Johnnie that placed was senior Tommy Allen with a time of 26:47. The Johnnies ran against 12 of the nation’s ranked NCAA Division III schools in the meet.With tough competition, uncooperative weather and rough terrain, the St. John’s team made the most of their Pennsylvanian excursion.

Young spoke about the circuit: “The course was super cool. It was hilly, probably the hilliest cross country course I’ve ever raced on, which is pretty cool.”

Allen echoed Young, emphasizing the benefits of running a difficult course.

“Saturday morning everyone raced pretty well. It’s a hard course, pretty hilly. I know it was raining, but it was just a lot of fun. I feel like we got closer as a group,” Allen said.

Head coach Maxwell Kuzara was proud of his runners’ production on the course.

“I guess in terms of the meet, it was just kind of good to see the guys get a chance to see the Nationals course and compete against some of the other top teams in the nation,” Kuzara said.

Along with the race, the team spent time in Washington D.C. and visited historical sites in the area.

“Thursday morning we went to [Washington] D.C., which was a lot of fun. We toured the Capitol Building and we got to go for a run on the mall in D.C., so that was really cool. And we went to Gettysburg on Friday,” Allen said.

Like every collegiate sport, the Johnnie cross country team had to adapt after the departing of graduating seniors and injuries throughout the season. They had to rely on newcomers to the program to step up as the season progressed.

“The first-year runners are performing super well,” Young said. “We have a really solid squad of guys that have come in, and they’re running well. Some are racing even better, so it is super fun to see. I look forward to seeing how they do in the future.”

Allen is equally impressed by the first-years’ results so far.

“I think they’re performing fantastic,” he said. “There’s the change in distance that goes from 5K to an 8K, and then obviously just competition is better. There’s more training, like more mileage out the week, but they’re doing great. All of them are doing really good, but the three that stand out to me are Max [McCoy], Vincent [Kaluza] and Cole [Stencel].”

Now that the end of the season is coming, the intensity is only ramping up with the MIAC Championship and the NCAA Regional and Championship looming.

Kuzara says preparation for the final leg of the 2023 season should look like the first part of the season: giving it their all and staying in shape in order to close out another St. John’s cross country season.

“We just got to keep running like we have been all season,” Kuzara said.