Fifth year senior Johan Correa and sophomore Ramon Rodriguez came up big at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship cross country meet on Saturday, Oct. 26. When pitted against the best runners in the GNAC, Correa placed second and Rodriguez placed third. 

Both runners ran at a blistering pace. Correa finished the eight kilometer race in 24 minutes and 29.5 seconds. This comes out to an average of about four minutes and 55 seconds per mile. Rodriguez was not far behind clocking in at 24 minutes and 32.9 seconds, giving him an average of four minutes and 56.3 seconds per mile. 

Despite placing so high and leading their team to a fifth place result in the GNAC Championship, neither runner was satisfied with their result. Correa expressed disappointment with his placement, as his goal was to come in first place. Rodriguez said that his result was “Good, but I’m not satisfied,” Rodriguez said. “I need to do better.”

This winning mentality is something that both runners have brought into their training every single day. Both Correa and Rodriguez emphasized the importance of discipline in their everyday training. 

Although races are run individually, cross country is still a team sport. Correa emphasized the importance of teamwork in training. The men’s cross country team regularly does workouts that require leadership and teamwork from each member. “When someone has to step up they are ready to do so,” Correa said. 

While race day anxiety plagues the nerves of many cross country athletes, Correa and Rodriguez both felt confident while stepping up to the starting line. On race day nerves, Rodriguez said, “No, the work has been done and race day is to show what we have been working on.”

Each athlete’s ability to fall back on their training and consistency was a big part of their success on race day. However it can be difficult for cross country runners to balance their training with injury prevention since their volume and intensity is so high all year long. Correa says that this is the hardest part of being a cross country athlete. 

Both Correa and Rodriguez have put together a number of impressive performances so far this season. Correa placed top ten in every race that he ran this year, even while racing against athletes from Division I cross country powerhouses like University of Portland and the nationally ranked #33 UC Irvine. 

Rodriguez placed first at the PLU Invitational on Sep. 21, earning him GNAC men’s cross country runner of the week. This race was Rodrigiez’s favorite moment of the cross country regular season. Rodriguez also earned GNAC cross country newcomer of the year. 

Stay tuned for the NCAA Regional meet where both Correa and Rodriguez will compete on Nov. 9 in Billings, Montana. Correa placed first in the region race last year, while Rodriguez will make his regional debut.