November 9, 2018 / Trailblazer harriers set for national meet
GARDEN CITY, Kan. - The Vincennes University Cross Country
teams are set to compete in the NJCAA National Championships on
Saturday. The meet will take place at Buffalo Dunes Golf Course in
Garden City, KS.
Sophomore Liz Bredeweg is the lone runner on the women’s team,
while the men will have a complete team.
Bredeweg was part of
the women’s team who placed ninth at the national meet last season as
she placed 115th out of a field of 309. Her time was 20 minutes, 24.1 seconds.
This season, Bredeweg missed most of the year due to an injury
but bounced back to win the Region XXIV meet with a time of 20:05.4.
In the week and half off since the region meet, Bredeweg has developed
another minor injury, according to VU coach Randy Heisler. “She had a
couple really good practices (after the region meet) then last weekend
on an easy run she started to develop a cramp in her high hamstring,”
the Trailblazers coach said. “I think she will be fine for this
weekend as we have been cautious with her. We have just been trying to
keep her mentally fresh. She is ready to run.”
Bredeweg won the region meet on Oct. 10 by nearly three
minutes. Heisler noted Saturday will be a different kind of race. “She
is going to have a pack in front of her, a pack behind her and she
will be in the middle of a pack,” Heisler explained. “She just needs
to be comfortable in that situation and just race, not just fall in
place. We want her to be in a position to have a kick in that last
mile and just see what happens. I really think she is ready to have a
big breakthrough.”
For the men, the Trailblazers enter coming off a Region XXIV
team championship.
VU has three runners who were a part of last season’s
ninth-place finish at the national meet - Atlantis Green, Seth Vaquero
and Jacob Adams.
“They are all second-year runners who have done a really good
job and are leaving their mark on the program,” Heisler stated. “I
wish I had them for another 2-3 years.”
Last season, Green (27:04.2) finished 83rd in the national
meet, while Vaquero (27:28.0) and Adams (28:32.9) finished 123rd and
205th, respectively, out of 320 harriers.
Green and Vaquero finished first and second, respectively, in
the region meet two weeks ago.
Milan Todorovic, Morne Scharnick, Bryuan Manuel and Logan Busz
round out the Trailblazers who will be competing in the final meet of
the season.
Heisler mentioned he does not have a certain goal in mind for
the team, when it comes to placement. “Our expectations are simple,”
the veteran coach said. “We are going there expecting everyone to run
a personal record. If we finish in the Top 10, that’s great. But I
just want them to go there represent VU and have nothing left when
they cross the finish line and see what happens. That is all we can
ask of them.”
The women’s 5K race is set for 12 p.m. (CST), with the men’s 8K
race set for 1 p.m. (CST).
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