Photo by mvcyclones.com
The Cyclones ran all five athletes for the first time this season at the Ranger Open in Kenosha, WI on Oct 2. The women placed third among the small field.
By Joey Fernandez, Sports Editor
Women’s cross-country has had to deal with a season full of adversity.
With two out of the five runners on the team battling injuries throughout the fall, the team ran the first three meets of the season without qualifying as a team. To qualify as a full team, a school needs five athletes.
Freshman runners Maria Thurman, Isabelle Vaccaro, and Natalia Wrobel are all fully healthy, but sophomores Jasmeene Guido and Stephanie Tuscher are still recovering from injury and may not become fully healthy by the end of the season.
Head coach Dimitri Dimizas expressed the importance of managing the runners and their health to have a shot at a conference title: “I don’t think they will be 100 percent healthy at the end of the season, so our goal is getting them as healthy as possible and in the best shape as possible.”
Maria Thurman placed 31st in 24:40 as the lone Cyclone runner in the small field of athletes at the PNW Cross Country Classic at Purdue University on Sept 10.
When the team was finally healthy enough to qualify for a meet, the result was a third place finish at the Ranger Open in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Oct. 2.
While the injuries seem to be clearing up, both Guido and Tuscher were unable to participate in the most recent outing on Oct. 15. This meant the team did not have enough runners to qualify for a placing.
However, the team is focused and looking forward to everyone getting healthy. “Our goal is getting them as healthy as possible and in the best shape as possible,” Dimizas said.
Runner Jasmeene Guido has helped the team through the challenges.
“Jasmeene has been the most vocal leader,” Dimizas said, “but performance-wise, it has been a group effort.”
The Cyclones hope to maintain health and consistency as the championship meet approaches on Oct. 30. They’re looking to be able to win conference and make strides with the top three freshman runners for next season.
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