Regionally ranked cross country teams begin 2014 season

The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps cross country teams got their 2014 season underway this week with preseason practice.  On a recent morning, the teams beat the heat by taking a short trip up into the Angeles National Forest to run in cool temperatures above 4000 feet near Mt Baldy Village.  Packs of the 34 men and 31 women on the teams ran up the dirt trail winding through the San Bernardinos to reach a summit where they enjoyed a sunrise view of the mountains and valley down below.  By Southern California standards, this view is reminiscent of the Swiss Alps seen in the movie "The Sound of Music." The movie also lends it name to the run on practice schedules and the teams are known to sing the movie's theme song as they run along.

The Stags and Athenas continue to build upon their summer training back in Claremont after a week together at a student run training camp in Lake Tahoe. In just a few days of practice, the teams have already had a variety of workouts including on the mountain trails, at the SCIAC Championships course, soft surface tempo runs at a local regional park and strength sessions.  All of the training is helping them gear up for their opening competition on September 6.  CMS will meet Westmont in a four mile race by the beach in Santa Barbara in their annual Nationball Classic.

The preseason NCAA Division III Cross Country Regional Team Rankings, released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), showed the Athenas ranked second in West Region while the Stags are ranked fourth.  In the USTFCCCA National Team Rankings, released Wednesday, the women are ranked 14th while the men were just outside the top 35 while receiving the most additional votes.