ASU cross country returns to Tucson for the Arizona Twilight Open Friday after sweeping the Dave Murray Invitational on Sept. 18.
Head coach Louie Quintana said the meet serves as an opportunity for the team to level off between big meets at Notre Dame and Wisconsin.
“The meet in Tucson is really low key,” Quintana said. “I think for the guys that raced (in South Bend) this is a good week to just get back to work … and we will have some time before Wisconsin to get ourselves on an even playing field emotionally.”
Quintana said for those that run in this Friday’s meet, it is another opportunity to compete.
“It’s really just a stepping stone for that group,” Quintana said. “It’s likely that some of them may compete at the Pac-12 meet, so it’s still really important in terms of their progression toward the championship season.”
Senior redshirt captain Ryan Herson said he looks to see improvement by the team continuing to work and believing in the process.
“I think that we need to realize that we have a lot of talent out here and for having one race that didn’t go our way doesn’t really define our team,” Herson said. “Just continue to prepare, continue to correct and get ready for the next time you get to line up.”
For Herson, Friday's meet will be his final stop in Tucson while wearing a Sun Devil uniform.
“If I get the opportunity to run, it would be great to get a win, great to get a team win,” Herson said. “Any time you can put the Sun Devil uniform on and represent them to the fullest and win a meet it’s an honor and continue the tradition we’ve had for a long time.”
Freshman Samantha Ortega said the team is looking to improve upon closing gaps between one another during the race.
“As a team, I probably would just say closing our gaps between each other and just really keeping our pack and our top five closer together and working on scoring,” Ortega said. “(The goal) is just always improve pack-running because that’s what helps us win races.”
The last time ASU raced in Tucson, the Sun Devils swept both the men’s and women’s races with first place finishes at the Dave Murray Invitational.
“I think it would be great thing,” Ortega said. “Ultimately, we’re looking at the bigger picture of nationals and trying to be there and working towards all those goals.”
The Arizona Twilight Open will be held at Quincie Douglas Park in Tucson.
The men's four-mile race is set to begin a 3:50 p.m. and the women’s three-mile race will follow shortly after the conclusion of the first race at 4:20 p.m.
Related Links:
ASU cross country records strong showing at South Bend Invitational
ASU cross country sweeps Dave Murray Invitational in Tucson
Reach the reporter at michael.baron@asu.edu or follow @Michael_Baron96 on Twitter.
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