Age was not a factor for the Cardinal men’s cross country team on Saturday. All that was important was the Long Lane course and the familiar faces running together. After all is said and done, the bond shared between runners was enough to provide a fun-spirited yet competitive race, which is the ideal atmosphere to gear up for Wesleyan’s own invitational to come.
Sixteen Cardinal alumni returned to show the current men’s squad what it means to be a Wesleyan runner. However, the men’s cross-country team came out ahead of the alumni, 22-37.
The Cardinals ran a 5k race that served as a precursor to the 8k the squad will run on Sept. 25 at the Wesleyan Invitational. With times significantly faster than last season’s times, the alumni race showed the young team’s potential.
For a good portion of the race, Justin Spring ’10, currently a 5th year MA student, had the lead in the race.
“Spring said afterwards that he’s been upping his calcium intake and that the Metamucil shake he downed before the race gave [him] a particular edge,” said tri-captain Brendan Sheehan ’11.
However, Skyler Cummins ’13 proved to be too much for his old teammate and surpassed Spring to win the race.
Despite the competitiveness at the head of the pack, the end of the pack provided a bit of a show between two alumni, demonstrating the meaning of a friendly rivalry. Samuel Kurtis ‘10 and Matt Nettleton ‘03 ran consistently throughout the course until the very end when Kurtis tripped Nettleton right before the finish line.
The alumni race is a great way to start of the cross-country season and become reacquainted with running out on open terrain with a pack of runners striving to win. With the alumni there, nerves were eased, and the team had fun doing what they love.
“Most importantly, the alumni bring a sense of tradition and history back to the team and are great influences on the younger crowd,” Sheehan said.
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