What’s up everyone?!?! Today I am reporting back about our second meet of the 2024 cross country season, the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational! Better known as Auggie, this is a legendary meet in the world of IXC. Both the men and women’s races consist of multiple laps around the Saukie Island Golf Course. This race is fabled to be flat and fast, so our athletes were hyped heading into it. It had been three full weeks of grueling workouts since our last showing at the Boiler Up Invitational, and most of our returning athletes were itching to shave a few minutes off. Unfortunately, the races were right at the hottest part of the day. Shade was hard to come by on the course and our athletes definitely felt that. We can’t seem to escape the heat at Auggie!
The morning started slightly later this time (7:45 am instead of 6 am departure!!!!), and we managed to scrape together enough seats to transport our 35 racers. The drive was slightly longer than the last meet, especially for those in my car who got to enjoy 15 extra miles of scenic I-80. Everyone arrived with plenty of time for warm-ups and enjoying the array of porta potties available to us. The women’s team had fun doing pre-race interviews and warming up. After some dynamics, strides, and a much-bigger-than-last-meet huddle, we toed the line and waited for the gun to go off. For whatever reason, the race started at 11:58 instead of 12:00, but we were ready nonetheless. The women put up quite the showing, scoring 111 points and securing 5th place among NCAA teams!
Let’s talk individual performances. Finishing in 4th place was senior Claire Casiello, who absolutely smashed this race with a time of 23:58.2. This was her first official sub-24 race, which was her goal going into today. Goal set, and goal achieved (per usual with Claire!) After Claire was junior Suhani Peramanu, who finished in 25:50.8. Suhani admits she started off too fast and paid the price on tired legs, but she still managed a strong race and a fast finish despite those challenges! Lenny Sterritt made her IXC debut with a super speedy time of 26:09.9. She has been humble about this amazing performance, but I am seriously impressed by her effort and place on the team! Right after Lenny was our president, Bridget Brokaw. Brokaw was motivated by the promise of sparkling water after the race. She was cheered on by her teammates and family, and finished with a time of 26:57.0. Really, I think she was just happy to be included in the women’s race this go around. After Bridget was our Gender Minority Captain, Anna Zlatic. Anna executed her race plan flawlessly and finished with a time of 27:34.9. Also shoutout to Anna for trekking all the way to and from Bloomington on Friday night to secure her vehicle for us. Right after her was sophomore Annika Luthe. Annika allegedly fought off a pesky bee and powered her way to a finish time of 28:11.1. Up next was a dynamic duo of Carlin Hass and Hannah Madla. Carlin finished just before Hannah with a time of 28:22.2. Hannah crossed the line in 28:25.9. We love to see our runners work together to make each other better! Finishing next was me (Emma Bergmann)! Though by no means a PR, I had fun getting back into racing after quite the hiatus. I finished in 28:55.4. Mira Bhimani finished 9th for the Illinois women with a time of 32:08. Per her own words, she ‘gave it everything [she] had’. At the end of the day, isn’t that all we can ask of ourselves?? Shortly after Mira was Lia Tondeva. Though this was not Lia’s favorite race ever, she still finished in 32:33.0 and maintained her bubbly attitude. Reiss Christensen finished next in a swift time of 34:01.0. JJ Scheurich made her season debut (and even drove to the meet! Freshman of the year!) and made us proud with her time of 36:29.9. Last but not least was Piper Rieger, who, just like Bridget, was happy to have made it in time for the women’s race. Piper finished her very first official 6K with a time of 37:32.9. Overall, we had a great turnout, everyone was able to run in the race they intended to run in, and we had a few PRs. Our women are definitely a force to be reckoned with. Despite the warm and windy conditions, everyone showed up today and made me proud.
Alright, now it’s time to talk about the men’s race! Our men secured 2nd place with 68 points, beating out many non-club teams! Finishing in 3rd place for the second meet in a row was Coach Ethan Forsell. Ethan showed us that his training plan is extremely effective and cruised to a time of 26:27.7. Shortly after Ethan was senior Adam Gorcyca. Adam made his season debut today and absolutely crushed it. His final time was 26:56.4. In third place for the men was Sam Lambert. He wowed us all with his finish time of 27:20.3. What a great race! Up next was Easton Rosen, who moved up effectively throughout the race and fought his way to a time of 27:33.9. After him was Thomas Harmon, who met us from home this morning for his 27:39.4 8K race! Up next was yet another dynamic duo of Isaac Moss and Maxwell Maloney. Though the heat was a factor, they still managed to elevator an opponent that was swerving in front of them (whatever this means). The two of them finished within seconds of each other, with Isaac barely eking out the win. He finished in 28:03.1 and Max finished in 28:07.4. I can’t wait to see what stunts they pull at the next race! Max Henige ran his first 8K ever, making it an automatic PR. Though he felt it was not his best race, he still finished looking spry, placing eighth for the men with a time of 28:18.7. Up next was junior Adam Lupatkin, who ran a course PR with a finishing time of 28:22.0. Adam was super happy with this result as it was his first race in a while. Consider that rust busted. Up next was transfer Albert Szewczyk. Though he did not beat his lifetime PR, he still shaved considerable time off of his last 8K. He finished just under 29 minutes with a time of 28:59.7. Just after Albert was Simon Hildy. As far as I can tell, Simon felt the effects of the blistering sun and relentless winds. His heartrate soared, but so did his drive (I don’t know?). Simon finished this race in 29:04.8. Go Simon! Up next was Morgan Frederick. Morgan both broke the 30-minute barrier and PRed! What more could you ask for? He fought through the middle miles and finished with a time of 29:09.4. Next we have a little bit of a mix-up. The results will tell us that Zach Coren finished next, but it was actually freshman Jon Wool running in his place. Jon escaped his pledge duties for an afternoon and returned to the IXC community. He ran 29:13.7. Great job to both Zach and Jon for this shared achievement. Crossing the line next was Quinn Born. Quinn finished in a humble 29:45.4. He felt that the experience could have been worse, but really was just looking forward to lunch at Arthur’s afterwards. Our last athlete to finish under 30 minutes was Alex Demas. This was his second meet with us, and he ran an astonishing time of 29:54.5. Gabe Inojosa had his season opener today, finishing with a time of 30:00.9. Right after Gabe was Alan Perez. Alan really embraced the suck today, fighting illness and racing to a time of 30:21.5. Alan said that the race got harder and harder-a truly thoughtful insight. Next up was Nick Kwentus, who ran an amazing time of 32:47.9. It’s been great having him back around this season! Up next was Connor Quadrini, who got some last minute coaching advice from 15hunna on Friday night. That wisdom pushed him to a finish time of 32:58.8. Next up was Henry Hornbrook. Henry passed the cheer squad with a smile each time! He finished in 33:58.9. Max Boughner made quite the jump in racing today. This was his very first cross country meet EVER!. After running 800s and miles throughout high school, he decided try a season of cross. He killed this first 8K, finishing with a time of 36:26.4. The guys really showed out today! Not every club could place so well among NCAA teams. I am super proud of these efforts!!!
Alright, that about does it. Special shoutout to our amazing photographer and videographer, Laine Hackmann. She captured most of these images and cheered us on with an infectious smile. Augustana is always something that our returners look forward to. Though the conditions weren’t ideal, we still had some PRs. The most important thing is that we had fun! And we all enjoyed lunch at Arthur’s afterward! They run a tight ship around there and it was a great mix-up from our usual Culver’s routine.
Okay, that is all from me! I will be back next weekend to recap Notre Dame. Let’s all rest up and enjoy the easier week coming up.
Godspeed,
Emma
Link to photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/NAo5VawN3A3FdB8T9 (I hope this works)
