Spring Break
Nationals next for men's XC
Kris Scully
Issue date: 11/13/09 Section: Sports
With the season winding down and only two meets to go, the Huskies gear up for a big finish. The NCAA Regional XC Championship will be held in Boston, Mass. this Saturday
Last season, 239 runners took part in this race and only three of them were Huskies. The UConn's Mens Cross Country team has proved to be a team with a bright future. With hard work, dedication to the sport and good leadership, the Huskies have improved in every meet this season.
"My season overall has been a success. There were certain goals that I had coming into the season and I would say that I accomplished them" said junior Mike Rutt.
"I think that is the biggest factor for some of us, to come out of the season accomplishing the goals that we set forth to do. My most challenging meet by far was the Big East Championship meet," Rutt said. "The conditions were nothing like any of us had ever raced in and it changed the way we raced. Unfortunately for some of the guys things didn't play out like they had planned but it taught us some things about ourselves. The conditions of the course really challenged us physically and mentally."
Distance coach Rich Miller has put together and trained a good set of runners this season. Practice has been everything but easy for the team.
"At this point in the season, there is not much the coaches can do," Miller said
Senior William Sanders agreed.
"We've done the work physically; it's now up to us to get the job done. There is only so much they can do to motivate us."
Freshman Myles Udland has enjoyed his first season with the team.
"This season has been long, but I've definitely learned a lot, about racing, about training and about how hard I can push myself in future seasons," Udland said. "I can definitely feel this falls training and racing in my legs, but I still feel healthy and ready to go for this weekend. My hardest race this season was definitely the UMass meet because we were still training so hard and everything just really caught up with me that day and led to a terrible result."
With one first place team finish at the Leopard Invite this season, the Huskies hope to see more of those as they continue growing as individual runners and as a team.
Last season, 239 runners took part in this race and only three of them were Huskies. The UConn's Mens Cross Country team has proved to be a team with a bright future. With hard work, dedication to the sport and good leadership, the Huskies have improved in every meet this season.
"My season overall has been a success. There were certain goals that I had coming into the season and I would say that I accomplished them" said junior Mike Rutt.
"I think that is the biggest factor for some of us, to come out of the season accomplishing the goals that we set forth to do. My most challenging meet by far was the Big East Championship meet," Rutt said. "The conditions were nothing like any of us had ever raced in and it changed the way we raced. Unfortunately for some of the guys things didn't play out like they had planned but it taught us some things about ourselves. The conditions of the course really challenged us physically and mentally."
Distance coach Rich Miller has put together and trained a good set of runners this season. Practice has been everything but easy for the team.
"At this point in the season, there is not much the coaches can do," Miller said
Senior William Sanders agreed.
"We've done the work physically; it's now up to us to get the job done. There is only so much they can do to motivate us."
Freshman Myles Udland has enjoyed his first season with the team.
"This season has been long, but I've definitely learned a lot, about racing, about training and about how hard I can push myself in future seasons," Udland said. "I can definitely feel this falls training and racing in my legs, but I still feel healthy and ready to go for this weekend. My hardest race this season was definitely the UMass meet because we were still training so hard and everything just really caught up with me that day and led to a terrible result."
With one first place team finish at the Leopard Invite this season, the Huskies hope to see more of those as they continue growing as individual runners and as a team.
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