By Olivia Daugherty
A team who overcame hardships, led by a new coach and a pack of underclassmen, the men’s cross country team is preparing for its post-season.
In white from left, Alex Montross and Braedan Horn stride before their race. Photo by Olivia Daugherty
In his first year at Bluffton, coach Scott Black leads a team comprised of four freshmen, three sophomores and a lone senior. With quarantine affecting the roster, injuries and harsh racing conditions, the Beavers head into the post-season with the goal of improvement for both the individual runners and the team. The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference meet will be hosted by Anderson University Saturday at Blue River Memorial Park in Shelbyville, Indiana.
“There has been a lot of adversity we have had to overcome,” said Black. “There have been some injuries, we have a small team to start out with.”
At the All-Ohio Championship on Sept. 17, the team had to run with a limited roster due to contact tracing and a positive COVID-19 case. Not enough runners finished the race to yield a team score, as hot conditions and limited shade took a toll on the runners.
“We’ve lost a couple of good runners this year, and our team has been riddled with injuries and issues,” said Tyson Lesher, a freshman from Millbury, Ohio. “What we are doing right now is working on getting better each day and preparing for the post-season.”
For Black, the focus for the upcoming championship meet is improvement on both individual times and the team’s conference standings. In the past four seasons, the Beavers have placed sixth at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference meet.
The Beaver men at the official’s meeting before their race. Photo by Olivia Daugherty
“Heading in [to the post-season], I want to see us continue to build on what we have done, continue to try and set some personal bests,” said Black. “I really want to see [the team] improve from where we were in the past.”
The team is led by sophomore Alex Montross, who has been the first finisher for Bluffton at two meets. He ran a season’s best 8k time of 28:48 at the Tiffelberg Open on Oct. 1 and placed 10th at the Terracotta Open on Oct. 15. He is followed by a freshman pack consisting of Adam Menser, Cole Kropka, Braeden Horn and Lesher.
As the Beavers train for the championship season, this will be the first true post-season for both the freshman and sophomores, as the COVID-19 pandemic saw the HCAC championship get moved to the spring and the NCAA Regional meet get canceled in 2020.
“It’s kind of hard to talk towards improvement on last year because last year was a very unique season,” said Black. “They were running [the cross country conference meet] in the middle of track season.”
Even through hardships, the team keeps a family-like atmosphere, as they support each other through both good and hard times.
“I give a lot of credit to the runners,” said Black. “There have been some really good performances — they are overcoming the adversity. I think there is the potential to hit some good times and have some good performances as we get to the end of the season.”
“We are all very supportive of each other,” said Lesher. “It’s a very good feeling to have your teammates always cheer for you no matter what.”
Following the Oct. 30 HCAC meet, the Beavers will race at the NCAA Regional meet Nov. 13, which will also be held at the Blue River Memorial Park in Shelbyville, Indiana.
