The women’s cross country team competed in its most difficult race of the season this past weekend. The Crimson Tide placed No. 20 out of 24 teams at the Notre Dame Invitational.
Though the Tide finished 20th out of 24 teams, they ran in the most competitive field in all of college cross country. The Tide finished right after nationally ranked No. 19 University of Texas at El Paso and several places before No. 23 Southern Methodist University.
“We may not have finished up front, but a meet like that is definitely where we want to be,” said head coach Randy Hasenbank.
Though the 5-kilometer meet was something the women’s team was very familiar with, competing for foot space was not. The race had 194 participants, and the Tide found itself struggling to get ahead.
“Tactically and collectively, we did not move the group as a whole,” Hasenbank said. “Three of our girls got out fairly well, but not great. The rest of the girls were left behind. Not moving as a pack is what killed us.”
Junior Andrea Torske was the first Alabama runner to cross the finish line at 63rd with a time of 17:40. Junior Leigh Gilmore followed with a time of 17:54, finishing 82nd, while junior Kelsey Johnson finished two seconds later, placing 86th.
After this weekend, the Tide is secure in the top 50 of 300-plus Division I women’s cross country programs. The Tide is now ranked fifth out of nine teams in the South.
“We competed against a very impressive field,” Hasenbank said. “[The Notre Dame Invitational] was the number one cross country meet in the country. The big issue is psychological. The top 50 teams in the country are not void of talent. It really comes down to putting a collective effort together on the same day. You can never truly ready yourself until you are [at the big meets].”
The Notre Dame Invitational marked the most competitive meet that the Alabama women’s cross country team had faced all year. The meet hosted twelve nationally ranked teams including the top three: Villanova, Florida State and Washington.
“Pre-Nationals will be an all-star event much like the [Notre Dame Invitational],” Hasenbank said. “There are [many] Division I cross country teams making it a very competitive sport. We just hope that the Notre Dame Invitational and the Pre-National meet prepare us for the SEC Championship.”
The Tide has an entire week off to prepare for the Pre-National meet in Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 16. With the best competitors in women’s running attending the meet, the Tide will have to look forward and not let past mistakes be a presence in its meet two weeks from now.
