Cross Country Invitational | Photo by Arden Reimer | The Wright State Guardian
The Wright State University cross country team opened its regular season by hosting the Mike Baumer XC Classic on Friday evening.
The Race
The invitational was held at Fairborn Community Park on Sept. 2. WSU competed against 14 other schools, with Ohio State, Dayton, Marshall and Oakland being the most notable.
The women’s team finished seventh overall. Emma Shigley led the way for WSU, finishing in place 36 out of 141 qualifiers.
The men’s team also finished seventh. Junior Alex McCarty was the first to cross the finish line for WSU, grabbing place 13 overall.
Background
According to Head Coach Rick Williamson, WSU practices at the relatively flat Fairborn course often, giving the team experience with maintaining footing and avoiding hilly obstacles.
“If you are looking to run a good time, this is the course to do it at,” Williamson said. “I think hosting the opening meet is a good way to ease ourselves into the season.”
Furthermore, the course is only five kilometers compared to the typical eight kilometers the team is accustomed to. Even with this edge, some team members still felt the pressure of a home meet.
“It is a big deal to our team to have a home meet where we run very frequently,” senior Emma Shigley said.
Senior Max Pettit is looking to build off successes from last spring coming into this season.
“I would really like to get the school record in the 8k. We broke the 10k in track last season, and I think we are on pace to break another record,” Pettit said.
Looking Ahead
The Raiders will now shift focus to the All Ohio Championships meet, which will be hosted by Cedarville at the Elvin R. King Course on Sep. 16.
