The ASU cross country team is currently looking for someone to step up and lead the pack as the Sun Devils approach their first national test of the season.
Junior Lindsay Prescott made her case on the women’s side after finishing second in Friday’s race in Tucson.
“With the women, I think Lindsay [Prescott, junior] has firmly established herself up front for us,“ ASU coach Louie Quintana said. “But ultimately, it’s going to be our pack that’s going to determine if we get back to the national meet.”
Prescott understands the importance of the team even in light of her early season individual success.
“We always try to stay together and encourage each other,“ Prescott said.
ASU, who has stressed the concept of team all year long, tries its best to run together as a pack for as long as they can.
“Staying together and running well — that’s going to determine a lot of things for us this year,” Quintana said.
On the men’s team, there are several runners that are still in contention to surface as ASU’s front man.
“It’s still pretty wide open,” Quintana said. “There’s 10 or 11 guys battling for the top seven spots.”
Men Rest
The men will have two weeks off before another competition, when they will split the squad between two events.
The top nine runners will travel to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Invitational, while the younger runners will stay back and hold down the fort at the ASU Invitational in Mesa.
“We’re just sticking to the plan,” Quintana said. “We’re getting a good week’s worth of work in and getting prepared for Notre Dame in two weeks.”
While the men are relishing their victory over UA on Friday, they will seize this opportunity to rest and remain focused on the key approaching stretch of the season.
“I think everyone was really excited [about their performance in Tucson],” redshirt senior Ben Engelhardt said. “The races are so long; you feel like you need a good two weeks [to recover]. You have to forget your last race before you can really make a good effort on the next one. Otherwise, it’s just too overwhelming.”
Engelhardt set the pace for the men on Friday with a fifth place overall finish.
Women Head to Minnesota
The women will travel to Minneapolis to compete in the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday.
The nationwide meet serves as ASU’s first chance to garner at-large points for a bid to the NCAA Championships in November.
“If we all just play our part in the race, we should be fine,” Prescott said.
The women have been taking it easy in practice this week in preparation for the elite company they are sure to face at Griak.
“From this point on, we’ll just do easy runs, and just be really mentally prepared,” Quintana said. “I think physically, we’re really ready to compete.”
Quintana also notes that this will be a good chance to see how talented the Sun Devils are compared with other top programs from around the nation.
“We’re using [Griak] as more of a measuring stick of where we’re currently at,” Quintana said. “Obviously we want to place high, but even if we’re seventh or eighth coming out of this, we want to know that we’re making progress.”
Reach the reporter at kyle.j.newman@asu.edu
