<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0XHNX4_0wFVWu3300" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0XHNX4_0wFVWu3300" width="1763" height="1175" ></figure>Despite being a young group, the men and women’s cross country teams have made leaps of improvement throughout their respective seasons thus far, and are excitedly gearing up for their last tune-up meet before conference racing begins. “With the team we have right now, we’re almost all exclusively freshmen and sophomores. As coaches, we were a little worried we were going to come into this year and take a step back, but all the work that both the men and women put in over the summer proved that we aren’t going to take a step back as much as we thought. We know we're a really strong team that just lacks a bit of experience. What we’ve seen throughout the season has really surprised us in a great way,” said head coach Vincent Walker. Several athletes on both sides of the program have embraced crucial roles as leaders for their teams. On the men’s side, sophomore Karson Hollander and junior Joseph Scheele have stepped forward to guide the younger runners through this season.“You always look to the veterans to lead the way, and for me, as a coach, I was a little nervous to see who was going to rise to the occasion but that’s also the exciting part of all of this. [Scheele] and [Hollander] have really corralled the guys around this big vision of becoming a top-half team in the Missouri Valley Conference,” Walker said. The men’s side of the program also brought in a Junior College transfer junior, Brooks Julian, who has owned his role on the team despite it being his first year in a Beacon uniform. “[Julian] has been an awesome leader for us. For his first year at Valpo, you’d be fooled by the way he corrals the guys and gets them fired up for workouts and meet days. When he talks he gets me fired up and I even want to run for him,” Walker said. Meanwhile, on the women’s side, Walker noted the group has a stronger sense of collectiveness than in previous years thanks to junior Alina Worzella and sophomore Lauren Wroza. “In that group, we have struggled with not having a clear-cut person to get people fired up in the past, but having those two now in that role has been a big reason our women’s side feels a bit more cohesive this year,” Walker said. The Beacons only have one meet left before they head into conference racing. After taking a break from meets to have a three-week training block on the men’s side and a two-week one on the women’s side, they will head to the University of Wisconsin to partake in the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals meet. “Having that big of a break in the middle of the season has left our runners kind of foaming at the mouth or chomping at the bit to race so we are excited to see how our next meet looks,” Walker said. From there, the Beacons will shift their sights to the annual Missouri Valley Conference meet. In previous years, sickness or injury has led them to lower than anticipated standings, so this year a huge focus for them will be to maintain their momentum and health heading into these last two meets. “Since I’ve gotten here, our goal is to keep getting closer and closer to winning that conference title. In the last couple of years, we have had little things happen before the conference championships that being a fourth or fifth place team has eluded us. We’re really trying to focus on staying healthy and getting to the finish line this year,” Walker said.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Cross country finding success before conference meets

Despite being a young group, the men and women’s cross country teams have made leaps of improvement throughout their respective seasons thus far, and are excitedly gearing up for their last tune-up meet before conference racing begins. “With the team we have right now, we’re almost all exclusively freshmen...