The Lewis-Clark State College men’s and cross country teams will be in Louisville, Kent., on Saturday, Nov. 18, to take part in the NAIA national meets. 

Both teams received at-large berths into the field, which features 28 men’s teams and 29 women’s squads. The race will be held at Tom Sawyer Park, a fairly flat course that will aid faster teams, according to LCSC coach Mike Collins. 

The Warrior women are making their sixth straight appearance at nationals and have finished in the Top 20 each time, including a program-best ninth in 2003.  

“I want to say it’s exciting to go, but we are used to it so the thought of just going isn’t quite as prevalent,” Collins says. “The kids on the team are pretty excited about going and they have some resolve to do well at nationals and show they belong there. My view, as a coach, that’s pretty exciting to see because it’s a different mentality than what we’ve had in a while.” 

On the men’s side, it’s the second trip to nationals as a team. Collins believes the men are capable of returning to their early-season form when they were ranked in the Top 10 at the NAIA. 

“I still think we have a team with Top 10 talent, but we do have to put it together Saturday,” Collins says. 

Calin Hantau, a junior, is one of the top runners in Region I and Collins expects him to also do well at nationals. 

Collins says the key to success for both LCSC teams is to get off to a good start. 

“The real key in the race for us is we have to stay close together somewhere toward the front,” he says. “We need to have small gaps between our runners and stay relatively close. For the women, we don’t need anyone in the Top 40, but if all were in the Top 100, that would do.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LCSC Invite, October, 2006