Friday Features: CBU Cross Country Shows Return on Investment

11/3/2017 12:00:00 PM

By Chris Megginson Christian Brothers University men’s and women’s cross country each finished in sixth place with two All-Conference runners at the Gulf South Conference Championship on Oct. 21 in Danville, Alabama – the highest combined finish in CBU’s history. The two teams previously placed Top 10 at the same time in 2010 and in 1996, when they both finished seventh. Other than those two years, the women’s team has been thin in the number of runners. CBU’s women did not post a team score from 1997 to 2000 or from 2002 to 2004. With the exception of 2010, CBU has finished in the bottom three at the conference meet since 2005. CBU Coach Bill Hoffman says the women’s surge in success can be traced back to Brian Summers’ hire as athletic director in 2014 and an increased attention to the program. “When I arrived at CBU four years ago, I realized we had an opportunity to grow our track and field and cross country programs, while funding them to be more competitive in the Gulf South Conference and South Region,” Summers said. “Coach Hoffman has a passion for CBU and the vision to see what CBU has the potential to become. I knew if we invested in him and the program, our athletes’ overall experience and success would benefit.” Today, the team has more than 10 times the scholarship support it had in 2014, allowing Hoffman to “develop the program he’s long desired,” Summers said. The scholarships mean an instant increase of about five runners according to Hoffman. “It’s been a blessing with a little more money than usual that we can go out and get quality athletes and be able to compete with basically anybody in the conference,” Hoffman said. “Before that we were basically non-existent and were always fighting for the bottom. It didn’t matter how much you’d recruit. We’d have one or two runners, but we could never put a team together and keep up with the so-called Jonses.” Prior to the increase, Hoffman brought in two freshmen runners in 2014, including now senior leader Hannah Owen. Only one freshman was added each of the next two years, but this year, four new faces (Beate Allinger, Camille Cole, Lea Gray and Bella Rodriguez) were added to the program – a direct impact from the additional funding. Owen, who became the program’s first All-Conference runner in 2014 and now a repeat First Team All-GSC runner in 2016 and 2017, says the addition of quality runners has helped change the team’s attitude and focus. “There’s a lot more motivation with the women that are here, everyone is more driven on the men’s team and on the women’s side. I think we finally see some goals we can achieve … “We came in (to the conference meet) knowing that we actually have a pretty good team. We’d always gone in saying let’s hope we don’t get last place,” Owen said. “There’s a complete attitude change from the time I arrived until now.” During Owen’s career, there were times she was the only 5K runner in outdoor track season and was more than three minutes faster than her closest teammate in the fall. This year, only 39 seconds separated Owen’s eighth-place time of 18:23.09 at the GSC meet from Allinger (19:02.21), who placed 19th to earn Second Team All-GSC honors. In fact, only two minutes separated Owen from the remainder of CBU’s Top 5 (Rodriguez, Gray and Madeline Rose) this year. The team’s work ethic has also been part of the attitude shift. They have seen an increase in mileage during its runs, a change from sluggish 3:45 p.m. practices to everyone showing up ready to go at 6 a.m. each day, according to Owen. Sunday runs of roughly 90 minutes and 14 miles for the men’s program, which the women may join in on, are now self-driven. The attitude shift is also a result of the men’s program’s shift after dead last in the GSC the last three seasons. “After we finished last place last year in the conference, we had a meeting of the minds and said, ‘if you’re serious about running, stay. If you’re not, you need to go home and find something else to do,’” Hoffman said. “They took ownership of the team. They changed their diets. They’re running more serious and know what they’re doing.” Owen said it’s been great to see both teams competing at a higher level in the GSC and supporting each other. “We have the greatest group of guys,” Owen said. “They have been really, really supportive. You can see it in their eyes, they are so excited of us.” Hoffman says CBU’s men’s and women’s performance in 2017 is a sign of things to come for Bucs runners. “With the support of the scholarships we’re able to find a better quality athlete. We’re recruiting people on both sides – people who want to succeed and people who want to be part of a successful program … You can do a lot of damage in this conference, especially if you get quality kids,” Hoffman said. “Hopefully we’ll improve from this year and our goal is within two years we’ll win the championship. That’s our driven goal, not to be a participant but a contender.” Owen agrees. “It’s easy for the school to see how much we can achieve. They’re seeing how the scholarships improved us, that we can see these goals and compete,” she said. “I can see the program going even farther than it already has.” CBU’s season is not quite over. Owen will look to focus her team this Saturday, Nov. 4 when CBU travels to Lakeland, Florida for the NCAA Division II South Region Championships, hosted by Florida Southern College. On the men’s side, First Team All-GSC runner Peter Torres and Second Team performer Jack Goodwin will look to lead way at regionals. The women will compete in their first 6K race of the season, and the men will run a 10K. Follow Megginson on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/jcmeggs">@jcmeggs</a>. Email comments to <a href="mailto:megginsonjc@gmail.com">megginsonjc@gmail.com</a>. Join in on the conversation using #FridayFeatures on <a href="https://twitter.com/GulfSouth">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Gulf-South-Conference/51250223070?ref=br_rs">Facebook</a>. <table class="sidearm-table collapse-on-medium"> <thead> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="7" style="background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center;">2017 Friday Features Archive</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="4" data-label="Rec." style="text-align: center;">September 1 | <a href="http://gscsports.org/news/2017/8/31/general-friday-features-mississippi-college-takes-make-a-wish-giving-to-a-new-level.aspx?path=general">Mississippi College</a></td> <td data-label="Rec." style="text-align: center;">September 8 | <a href="http://gscsports.org/news/2017/9/8/womens-volleyball-friday-features-montevallos-bohan-fights-to-finish-career-on-her-terms.aspx?path=wvball">Montevallo</a></td> <td data-label="Rec." style="text-align: center;">September 15 | <a href="http://gscsports.org/news/2017/9/14/general-friday-features-lewis-snell-find-place-to-play-at-vsu.aspx?path=general">Valdosta State</a></td> <td data-label="Rec." style="text-align: center;">September 22 | <a href="http://gscsports.org/news/2017/9/22/football-friday-features-uwgs-dean-back-in-place-of-comfort.aspx?path=football">West Georgia</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="4" data-label="Rec." rowspan="1" style="text-align: center;">September 29 | <a href="http://gscsports.org/news/2017/9/28/general-friday-features-uahs-oglesby-is-mom-first-student-athlete-second.aspx?path=general">Alabama Huntsville</a></td> <td data-label="Rec." rowspan="1" style="text-align: center;">October 6 | <a href="http://gscsports.org/news/2017/10/5/womens-golf-friday-features-unions-montgomery-balances-two-sports.aspx?path=wbball">Union</a></td> <td data-label="Rec." rowspan="1" style="text-align: center;">October 13 | <a href="http://www.gscsports.org/news/2017/10/12/general-friday-features-ryan-cram-brings-unimaginable-joy-to-livingston.aspx?path=general">West Alabama</a></td> <td data-label="Rec." rowspan="1" style="text-align: center;">October 20 | <a href="http://www.gscsports.org/news/2017/10/19/womens-cross-country-friday-features-running-out-of-darkness-renee-coxs-journey-to-uwf.aspx">West Florida</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="4" data-label="Rec." style="text-align: center;">October 27 | <a href="http://gscsports.org/news/2017/10/27/football-friday-features-delta-states-sciorrotta-kick-down-gsc-records.aspx">Delta State</a></td> <td data-label="Rec." style="text-align: center;"></td> <td data-label="Rec." style="text-align: center;"></td> <td data-label="Rec." style="text-align: center;"></td> </tr> </tbody> <tfoot> </tfoot> </table>