Both men’s and women’s cross country were introduced to longer running distances on Sept. 27, at Roy Griak Invitational as the men’s ran an 8K while the women’s ran a 6K.

“Introducing [first-years] to this distance is a big thing,” senior captain of the women’s cross country team Andrea Haus said. “For the other returners it’s just a good way to get back into the mentality of a 6K [to] figure out our pace and see the improvement from the summer.”

At the meet, the men’s placed fifth with senior Ryan Peterson as the team’s top finisher followed by junior Nathan Rock and senior Chris Gill. For the women’s, Haus along with first-years Mariah Gallagher and Alyssa Nash led the way for the Pipers as they placed 13.

Adam Frye, co-head coach of the Pipers men’s and women’s cross country, said more than anything he wanted to see both teams “start smart and finish strong.”

“If we have some individuals finish well that’s great, that’s fun, but that’s really not important to us at this point,” Frye said. “The important thing is that we’re learning how to race efficiently and to work together with our teammates. Those are the things that’ll allow us to run our best at the championships.”

The plan for the Pipers plan is to use the early season meets as tests and use it as part of their training cycle to prepare for the MIAC Championships on Nov. 1 and then onto the NCAA Division III Regional meet on Nov. 15. If they perform well they could have individuals or the team qualify for the national NCAA Division III Championships meet, the week following regionals.

Men’s Cross Country

“It’s going to take a lot if we want to make it to nationals [as a team],” Rock said. “I don’t think we’re quite there yet but we’ll see at the end of the season where we’re at. I think we’ll have a pretty good chance at the end of the season if all the pieces come together…it’s feasible but a lot is going to have to come together in order for it to happen, especially in our region.”

The men’s cross country will have to face many ranked individuals and the defending champions, St. Olaf.

Frye said one of the things he’s impressed with is his athletes’ preparation during the offseason.

“Nathan had a great summer…he’s definitely got a work capacity that’s pretty special,” Frye said. “That’s paying off for him and Ryan Peterson too, [he] took a big jump at track season and those guys have been training together well.”

Frye also said Gill has recovered well from his injury during track season last spring and said “he’s coming back running stronger than ever.” He also said sophomore James Logan has improved a ton since last season.

“He just looks like a different guy this year – in a real good way,” Frye said.

Rock said as an upperclassman he’s learned to listen to his body when it comes to training. Rock said last year his offseason didn’t prepare him as well as he hoped. This year, he’s pushed himself to get in more mileage as he accumulated for 1026 miles.

“[My goal is] to be towards the top end of the finishers at MIAC [Championships], [add] another all-region award at regions and hopefully punch my trip to nationals and see where it takes me from there,” Rock said.

Above all, Rock wants to set a good example for the team’s first-years.

“I’m just trying to be the best runner I can and set a good example for these freshmen,” Rock said.

The team has nine returners and has brought in eight first-years. Head Coach Paul Schmaedeke said he’s excited about the new talent they’ve added to the men’s cross country squad.

“We’re really excited that we got a group of eight first-years. We’ve got some talented guys in there, they seem like a fun group and they’re working hard,” Schmaedeke said. “[The returners] are the guys that really set the tone. Hopefully, success will show the younger folks what it means to be a part of Hamline cross country and what you need to be, to be successful to compete at this level.”

Women’s Cross Country

On the women’s side, they have a total roster of eight runners with Haus as their lone senior. However, Haus said the depth doesn’t bother them because they’re an efficient group.

“For me it’s quality over quantity. We have eight of the funnest girls I’ve ever been with. We mesh really well together,” Haus said. “The biggest thing I’m trying to do as a leader is encourage each individual with their own training plan.”

The team has added three first-years and a first-time cross country runner as a track athlete, junior Brenna Kennedy, has joined the team.

“They’re doing great. They are positive, they’re fun, they’re hard workers. They’re definitely the type of people we wanted to recruit for our team. We have a good time,” Haus said.

Schmaedeke said he’s most impressed with how first-years Gallagher and Nash came prepared for this season.

“I think [they] really have a bright future. For first-years they came out of the summer with some pretty good preparation which we’re really excited to see…That tells us that they understand more than the typical first-year does,” Schmaedeke said. “They’ve got a great work attitude and great work ethic, just really fun people to have on the team too. We’re excited to see what they can do; they’ll be big for us this year.”

Haus said she’s definitely noticed a difference in terms of her role with the team. Last year, the team had six seniors in front of her and now with her being the lone senior she’s the one her teammates come to for questions.

“It’s definitely been a bit of a change because I looked up to those six seniors so much and now everybody asks me the questions,” Haus said.

She says after being with the team for four year’s she understands the importance of the training process and the purpose of each workout. Rather than setting achievement goals, she sets process oriented goals.

“I think if you focus on the process you’ll see performance improvements,” Haus said. “If you have more process oriented goals then the performance is going to take care of itself. Doing the little things every day is what coach always says.”