The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“This year they believe they can qualify”
[ by Than Acuff ]Slowly but surely the Crested Butte Titans cross-country team has been gaining numbers, and this season coaches Shari Sullivan-Marshall and Laura Puckett Daniels are seeing another bump with 25 students out for cross-country this fall, 11 girls and 14 boys.
“It’s one of our biggest rosters in a while,” says Sullivan-Marshall.
It helps that they only lost three to graduation last year and have several seniors that are entering their third or fourth year with the program. So not only do they have numbers, but they also have experience with four boys who have been to the state championships every year since they were freshmen, including several members of the team that finished second last year. In addition, Sullivan-Marshall has four senior girls that have been running with the team for the past three years. Throw in a handful of seniors that are joining the team this year and there’s no shortage of leadership and maturity on the team.
“We have so many seniors, it’s great,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “It’s a nice blend of new blood and great veterans. It’s a big group of people all working together.”
Of course, preseason has the prerequisite of getting in base mileage and fitness but with a mix of experience, the coaches are able to tailor workouts. While introducing speed, stride and overall strength to all of the athletes, the coaches offer a variety of distances for the team to run so those that came in with 300 miles of training over the summer can remain on point in their training while others new to the program can start their development as high school runners.
One element remains in place from the past several seasons of preparation, slow is fast. Rather than hit the ground racing, Sullivan-Marshall will continue to hold off on the lure of an early season meet and not jump into the competition fray until September 6.
“We’re putting in a really good month of base,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “We’ve found rushing into an early race it’s usually hotter and the kids aren’t ready and it’s more discouraging than anything else.”
But come September 6, it’s on and Sullivan-Marshall believes both the boys’ and girls’ teams not only have a shot at qualifying for the state championships again but doing some damage. Last year the boys placed second and are ranked in the preseason polls third in 2A.
“I think the boys’ team will surprise people at state again,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “We have five runners that are all strong.”
For the girls’ team, it’s a mind shift that could have a huge impact on how the season ends up. Last season they didn’t expect to make it to state, but did, and hope to build on that confidence.
“The whole state team is returning,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “This year they believe they can qualify.”
