Mississippi State cross country will compete in the NCAA South Regional tomorrow at 8 a.m. in Tuscaloosa.
Head Coach Al Schmidt said he is confident the women’s team will run much better after having a time trial run last weekend. The overall times were faster than SEC meet times posted by Alabama and Vanderbilt two weeks ago.
He said the No. 3 through No. 7 are doing a better job of staying closer to the one and two runners, and if they can stay close, State could beat even the best teams times at the SEC meet.
“It’s not the responsibility of one and two to slow down,” he said. “It’s the responsibility of third through seventh to catch up to them, and I finally was able to get that across to them. If we can do that on Saturday, we will definitely run a much better race, so that’s the goal.”
He said he feels confident the men will do better with the longer distance of 10,000 meters.
“We definitely have some things we need to work on if we’re going to be successful,” assistant coach Houston Franks said. “My one complaint is that we still have to work together as a team.”
The team is running more like eight individuals, but it is better than earlier in the year, he said.
“We’ve got four freshmen running in the top seven at NCAA regional this year for us,” Franks said. “It’s not a lot of experience, but there is some talent there.”
Senior Daniel Simpkins ran a season best 9 minutes, 7 seconds for the two mile, and he is more fit than he’s ever been, Schmidt said.
Simpkins has an ultimate goal of making the top five in the SEC steeplechase in the spring. Schmidt said cross country is connected to track and prepares him for the spring track season.
Senior Adam Lenz is finally getting back on track after injury most of the season, Franks said.
Last season, missing regionals by only a few slots was a major disappointment for him. Lenz said he is focused on doing well regardless of minor injuries and illness during the season.
“We have been taking things day-by-day and getting through as best as possible to give myself the best chance possible to qualify for nationals. That is always the goal,” he said.
Senior Cameron Vincent missed the SECs with a hip injury and will miss his final opportunity to run cross country, Franks said.
Freshman Chase Radke has developed iron deficiency problems he has battled since the middle of the season, Franks said.
The sunny weather conditions forecasted and firmer surface alone will produce better times for everyone, Schmidt said.
The men’s team has added fun into running. The team yells the Swahili word cheka while running. Cheka loosely means fun and is meant as an inspirational word for the team, Lenz said.
“You’re in a race situation,” he said. “You’re running well, and your teammate is not running well. You say to him cheka and it reminds the person I’m here, and I’m on your team, let’s have some fun.'”
Cheka was introduced to the runners by former Kenyan MSU runner Vincent Rono. Ever since then, the word has provided a small spark for the runners in maroon and white.
“It would be good if you beat some of the Kenyans,” Schmidt said. “The idea is to beat them and not just sound like them.”
Lenz said he hopes the freshmen will take positive mindsets from this race, so running the big races will become easier for them in the future.
“The one thing about our team is that we’ve got some gritty tough kids, and I’m really excited about that,” he said. “We need to run as a team and end it on a big note this year for us.”