With a group of only seven runners, Cabrini’s cross country team wasn’t able to place in most of the meets that they competed in. However, this hurdle didn’t stop them from beating their personal bests.
The men’s and women’s season ended on Saturday, Oct. 30, during the Colonial States Athletic Conference championship meet.
Running the 8k course, freshman Joshua Sutterfield led the Cavaliers in 18th place with a 29:08 finish. Running the 5k trail, senior Diane Gapinski led the women’s team finishing 47th place in 23:34.
Despite each of the individuals times, Gwynedd-Mercy College finished first for the men’s team and Marywood University finished first for the women’s team.
Whether or not this loss is due to the lack of scoring runners throughout the season leading up until the CSAC, is unknown, but it has affected most of the teammates.
“At first I was upset [at the lack of team members] and at times it was hard because there was no one to push me to do better,” Joshua Sutterfield, freshman exercise science major, said.
For most of the cross country team members, this was their first year running for the Cavaliers.
“I never ran before but this team was a lot of fun and it was something new and exciting. ‘Our sport is other sports’ punishment.’ I heard that saying this season and it always stuck in my head,” Taylor Bonanni, sophomore psychology major, said.
Jeff Young, a transfer student from Arcadia University completed his first season with the Cavs this year.
“This was my first season running cross country at Cabrini. I thought it would be a good idea to continue my athletic career and to meet new people because I am a transfer student,” Young, sophomore political science major, said.
One of last years leading runners and No. 3 in the CSAC, Diane Gapinski suffered from a season-long knee injury for the duration of the 2010 season.
“My season was disappointing because of my season-long injury that did not allow me to run most of the season. However, I still enjoyed being on the team very much,” Gapinski, elementary education major, said.
One race that is known to be difficult is the Belmont Classic. The Cavs competed at the Belmont Plateau three times during the season. One race in particular was on Saturday, Oct. 2, and the Cavs managed to score with impressive times.
Sutterfield lead the Cav’s efforts with a 14th overall finish against 87 competitors. This race marked his cross country debut wth a time of 31:57. Young also completed the 8k with a 41st-place finish with a time of 35:11.
Leading for the women, senior Maryellen Anastasio competed in the 5k trail with a time of 25:27, finishing 57th. Bonanni also raced and finished in 76th with a time of 27:07. Overall, the women finished in 13th.
“This is my first year running and this has been the most challenging sport I’ve ever done. It’s not like you can call timeout and fix a play, you just have to keep running. I would recommend it to anyone, people who want to get in shape and people who want a preseason for another sport they play,” Anastasio, senior communication major, said.
In addition to just running, every member of the team can agree that they made new friends and have shared a strong bond that they will never forget.
“It’s different from anything I’ve ever played. I wish I ran all four years. Our coach sends out weekly emails with goals and motivational quotes; he cares about our improvement,” Anastasio said.
“I made some very good friends on the team this year and had a lot of fun with them every day from late August until November. I am proud of every one of them who persevered through it all with me this year. Also, much thanks goes to Coach O’Hora, Coach Wootten and Coach Joe for all their hard work and dedication they put into our season,” Young said.
“I am really sad to be done with cross country, it has been a huge part of my experience as a Cabrini College student. I will definitely miss my teammates and Coach O’Hora. Coach O’ Hora and cross country have helped me become the person I am today. I will always continue to run. I love to run and the great thing about running is that you can do it forever,” Gapinski said.
The underclassmen plan on running in next years season to improve what they’ve already accomplished.
“I’m going to run so I can show Cabrini running is no joke,” Sutterfield said.
