The men’s and women’s cross country teams finished their seasons this past weekend at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Stillwater, Okla.
The season didn’t end on a good note for either the men’s or the women’s team.
Both teams were at a disadvantage from the beginning of their seasons when two women runners and three men runners were red-shirted and the men’s team was hit by the injury bug.
The regional placed both cross country teams against teams from larger conferences, and the competition was much greater than the runners had faced all year.
Coach David Beachum said he thought the team ran well against the tough competition.
“It was the best that the girls have run all year,” he said. “Brian Tyne ran really well for the men’s team.”
Junior Amanda Switzer had the best time for the women’s team running a 6K in just over 24 minutes, which was good enough for 106th place, and helped lead the team to a 25th-place finish. Sophomores Mary Goldkamp and Lauren Fog crossed the finish line less than 30 seconds after Switzer and finished 136th and 139th, respectively.
On the men’s side, sophomore Brian Tyne was the main stand out by running a 10K in 34:35, finishing just shy of his career-best time. Tyne finished in 129th place overall.
Oklahoma State placed four runners in the top seven places and claimed the overall championship for the men’s 10K race, while Minnesota narrowly beat Illinois to claim the women’s championship.
Beachum said although the season did not go as well as he would have liked, there were a few highlights.
Beachum said he felt Switzer’s performance at the regional was one of the better highlights for the women’s team.
For the men’s team, Beachum said Tyne’s performance at the Bradley Classic stood out as well.
While the season has just ended, Beachum said he is already looking forward to next season. The cross country program is planning on signing two recruits for both the women’s and men’s team.
“We plan on signing two recruits to come in and run right away and have a significant impact on the team” he said.
Beachum said he is expecting the team to be significantly better next year because they have no seniors on the team this year.
The teams will return their red-shirt runners because of the incoming freshmen recruits. Each team will have five runners who will help the team perform at its best.
