The Big Blue women’s cross-country team made history in Warrenville this weekend. The team won their first CCIW conference championship in program history, edging out rival Illinois Wesleyan to capture the championship.
Alyssa Ruiz finished first for the Big Blue, placing fourth overall with a time of 22:48.00, followed by Kendra Culler-Gautschi who placed fifth with a time of 23:01.5.
The men’s team finished fourth overall, led by senior Bradyn Olmstead, who finished with a time of 25.07.4, earning him all-conference honors with a ninth-place finish in the conference.
Although the athletes competed on the course, head coach Andrew Craycraft understands the value of the alumni and the non-competing athletes off of it.
“I’ve responded to texts from over 50 alumni,” he said. “It was extremely rewarding to share this with them.”
Although these alumni did not capture the championship themselves, they contributed in a way that is just as valuable. They were able to see the vision that the team had for the years ahead.
“We’ve been building generations of athletes,” Craycraft said. “Although they may never have won a championship, their role was just as important as the runners themselves. They understood the long-term vision of this team, and they helped to build the program into what it is today.”
Changing up the message is what Craycraft believes helped create a shift in momentum for the team.
“Last year, we were too worked up about the potential outcomes of the races we competed in,” he said. “This year, we focused on the process. We focused on taking care of each other and ourselves. We looked at what we could gain, rather than what we could lose.”
The team was able to create history through the hard work that they put in throughout the fall. The work that these athletes do is not for the faint of heart.
“There is nothing convenient about what we do,” Craycraft said. “Our athletes wake up at 4:30 each morning to practice as a team. One of our top five women’s athletes can’t even make this time, so she practices in the evening. This just shows how much of a family our team really is.”
The two teams will next compete at the NCAA regionals on November 11th. This strong showing by both teams shows that they are ready to compete at the next level, not only individually, but as a family.
