The California Baptist University cross-country teams are continuing their fall campaign by traveling to South Bend, Indiana for an elite invitational competition on Oct 1. The Joe Piane Invitational, hosted by the University of Notre Dame, brings some of the best runners together from across the country to compete.
“We wanted to get, in our last year of transition, a really good simulation of the points-chasing qualifying run like it is on a yearly basis for NCAA cross country nationals,” said Adam Tribble, head coach of the CBU cross country teams. “This year we’re actually going to two of the big meets in the build-up for the conference meet, so obviously we want to go in, compete hard, do the best we can. We want to get a taste of what’s to come in the future.”
The Lancer runners have dominated conference competition for the last three years. The women’s team is undefeated in Western Athletic Conference championships since its entry into the conference, and the men are entering this season as the defending team champions.
As they look to continue their winning trajectory, the CBU cross-country teams are traveling to bigger meets to run against more elite competitors. However, traveling across the country has its challenges.
“The traveling can actually be the difficult part,” Tribble said. “When you’re moving across three different time zones, traveling can be difficult.”
Traveling can cause fatigue and other problems for athletes.
“Traveling, especially to far destinations, makes you tired so you might need some extra resting time,” said Greta Karinauskaite, sophomore member of the CBU women’s cross country team.
Despite the challenges associated with traveling, the Lancer runners focus on the positives of traveling to large competitions.
“Traveling with the CBU team is a great opportunity to get closer to my teammates by living together for a few days,” said Florian Le Pallec, senior business major and member of the men’s cross country team. “We are lucky to travel in good facilities, which allows us to be in the best possible conditions for the race. Besides the race, we have time to go through the city quickly ”
There are challenges associated with traveling for competition, but the CBU cross country teams are ready to race hard at Notre Dame.
“I am going to the Joe Piane Invite to compete against the biggest teams of the country. It will be an opportunity to challenge myself to beat the best.”
The cross-country teams competed on the morning of Oct. 1, at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.
