Cross country often gets lost in the fall sports shuffle at Elon. However, the Elon University cross country team is achieving newfound success on the course this fall. The weekend brings a major meet on the season calendar for the Phoenix: the Southern Conference Championship in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.
The event begins with the women’s 5K race at 10:00 a.m., followed by the men’s 8K at 10:45 a.m.
Head coach Christine Engel, in her fifth season at the helm of both the men’s and women’s teams, believes the success the Phoenix has attained sets the team up for success this weekend.
“It’s been a great year so far, very consistent, and with some of the performances we’ve had this season, our expectations are very high heading into [the] conference [meet],” she said.
The season has been especially successful for the Elon women’s team, which Engel was quick to complement for their efforts.
“We’ve done a great job of having a really, really tight gap, so our top seven has been pretty interchangeable throughout the year, our seven girls have all done a really good job,” she said.
In the most recent United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll for the women, the Phoenix was ranked 12th for the southern region. Engel says that despite the success, there is not an increased sense of pressure for her team.
“It’s exciting to be ranked and recognized, but our girls know that this Saturday at conference there will be a lot of good teams, and it will be a battle, but I think we’re ready for the battle,” she said.
Engel’s praise was especially focused on two seniors, Christine Pacewicz and Emily Tryon, who “certainly have been doing a great job leading the way”.
Pacewicz is trying to remain focused ahead of the conference meet and meet her personal goals.
“You always go out there to PR [set a personal record], but seeing as it’s my last conference race, I want to leave everything out there” the senior runner said. “I’ve been training very hard, the whole team has been training very hard, and I think if we set limits we won’t run as hard as we can.”
Tryon has similar goals.
“I want to stay competitive the entire race,” she said “The most important thing for me is to forget about the time and think about really competing with the other team because every place matters.”
With the competitive conference meet coming up, the runners know their leadership is key.
“Being a senior is unique,” Pacewicz said. “You have the experience so you lead by example not just on the course but off the course. As you get older, you become a mentor.”
Tryon said she sees herself more as a leader by example. Despite that, she does have some words of advice for the team for the upcoming meet.
“We’re gonna go hunting,” she said. “I just repeat it to myself over and over and over again. Let’s go get ‘em.”
While the women’s team is enjoying great success and recognition, the men’s team is also making a name for themselves. Engel was quick to complement their efforts as well.
“The men had a great meet two weeks ago in Charlotte, led by (sophomore) Luis Vargas, who was outstanding, set a new school record of 24:16,” she said. “He’s really leading the way. Our two through five (runners) are all really good, they all set PRs in the same race. I think the guys are feeling a really good level of momentum going into the conference meet.”
Vargas shares the enthusiasm that the team experienced after the Charlotte meet.
“Last week, seeing everyone cross the finish line and know they got a PR, it was definitely an exciting moment,” he said.
This weekend, Vargas is looking for more Elon history.
“As a team standpoint, I want to make history [for] Elon, get the highest place finish we’ve ever had, and personally, I want to make it to first team all-conference,” he said.
Even though the meet is being held on a course the Phoenix has never raced on before, Vargas is confident.
“It’s definitely a challenge when you go to a new course, but we do well to prepare for it,” he said. “When we go see it, [we’ll] get to know it, so we’ll be well prepared.”
Engel has a few overarching goals for both teams for the weekend meet.
“The women were third last year, so we like to try and get better each year,” she said. “We’d like to get back on the podium. We have some high expectations and our girls feel ready. On the men’s side we were sixth last year, so we’d like to have the highest finish for our men’s program as well.”