The South Carolina cross country team will return six of its top seven runners from last season, providing more than enough reason for optimism within the program.
Add in a preseason ranking of No. 15 in the U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association’s (USTFCCCA) Southeast Regional poll, and the Gamecocks looked poised to pick up where they left off a year ago.
South Carolina finished 14th in the Southeast Region last year. Their all-time highest ranking under the current regional format is ninth, which gives the team a high bar to shoot for.
Sophomore Mary Reiser, who earned SEC All-Freshman team honors in 2013, believes new heights can be reached on any given day.
“I think it just all needs to come together,” Reiser said. “We’ve all been running really well together so we just need everyone to have a great race on the same day.”
A major storyline to watch out for is the widespread youth on the Gamecocks’ roster. Twenty of the 27 runners are underclassmen, with 15 freshmen among the mix.
After almost two weeks of practice, assistant track and field coach for distance and cross country, Andrew Allden, is still focused on getting his newcomers adjusted to the daily regime.
“With so many new people, it’s kind of just getting the process down of practice and getting the freshmen integrated into the system,” Allden said.
One new face to look out for is freshman Emily Harding, who placed in the Top 30 nationally in the 1600m during her senior year of high school.
An abundance of young talent gives added responsibility to the experienced runners on the team to place well and show their younger teammates the ropes.
In addition to Reiser, two other runners the Gamecocks lean on are juniors Anna Todd and Kayla Lampe. Lampe, who did not compete in 2013 due to an injury, did receive SEC All-Freshman Team honors in 2012 as well as All-Southeast Region honors.
Todd captured first place in the Gamecock Invitational No. 1 last year and set personal bests in both the 6K and the 5K.
Reiser emphasized the importance of keeping her younger teammates in a good state of mind early on in the season.
“It’s not really the time to be going crazy and just have fun with it because if you enjoy it you’ll run well,” Reiser said.
The team will begin its fall season this Saturday when they host the Carolina Invitational at Hilton Field on Fort Jackson.
With the best interests of his runners in mind, Allden is holding out Reiser, Todd and Harding, among others, to keep them fresh for the duration of a season that could potentially last until June.
In the meantime, Allden is anxiously awaiting Saturday’s first meet to begin to gauge which young talents on his roster will stand out.
“It’s a different one every day. Part of having a meet is who the racers are,” Allden said. “Every year I’m always surprised by some kid that works out at one level and races at another.”
As the season progresses and the top runners become a staple in the Gamecocks’ lineup, Allden said the team’s focus will shift to cracking the top 10 in both the SEC and the Southeast Region. A record-high ranking would be the icing on the cake.
Todd, for one, has faith in the hard work her team has put in and does not expect a drop-off anytime soon.
“Everyone’s really been working together in all the workouts and pushing each other,” Todd said. “I think that’ll carry over into the races.”