2011 Season Preview

Great expectations. That's the theme of a season beginning to be authored by a young, fresh contingent of Gators prepared to embark on a new journey as they begin their collegiate athletic careers. The journey will likely take the new Gators down the road of tradition. A tradition that includes conference champions, National qualifiers, and all-American runners and throwers.  21 new faces join the ranks of 45 returning athletes all of whom have high hopes and great expectations for the season ahead. The main objective: win Conference Championships. With everyone sharing the same winning mindset, the pressure to win is sure to usher in a successful season.

Having already arrived on campus for a week of pre-season training and team buliding, the cross country team has the first shot at securing a conference championship for both the men and the women. The men brought home their 7th consecutive team title last season with the top five guys all finishing in the top 15 runners while the women finished just 2 points behind Oberlin to take the runner-up spot at NCACs. To say the least, both teams expect to bring home the 1st place trophy this season and nothing less.  The men seek out their 8th title while the women crave their first in a decade; either way, both squads have a lot to prove this season to their conference, their region, and quite possibly the nation.

During the first week alone, the team has already built a cohesive bond, with the shared winning attitude serving as the glue that holds them all together. From easy runs at Presque Isle to the anticipation building up to the Saturday night 3K time trial, the runners are using this last week of freedom before classes begin to take the time to seriously focus on the season ahead. While injury, heartbreak, and loss are sometimes unavoidable, the men and women all share a mindset that creates a family-like atmosphere at practice. The runners know and realize that although cross country may depend heavily on individual achievement, winning is impossible without each other.

So, as we welcome the new athletes as well as the more experienced runners, the season stretches out before us, not as a daunting task to be completed or another finish line to be crossed, but as motivation for achieving those great expectations that the team has so clearly developed.  Sure enough, the pressure to win this season is there, but it's the pressure that so often forces runners to overcome challenges.  Pressure creates opportunity and this season, the team looks to use that opportunity to their advantage...it's not one that the Gators are prepared to let slip by.

Junior Kelly Gallagher