APPLETON, Wis. — No beating around the bush for Lawrence University cross country coach Jason Fast.
“The goals for the men’s and women’s teams are to bring home the conference title,” Fast said.
Lawrence gets the chance to race at the Midwest Conference Championships on Saturday when the Vikings host the league meet at Reid Municipal Golf Course. The men’s 8,000-meter race is at 11 a.m., and the women’s 6,000-meter race is at noon.
“The thing we know is both of our teams are very good,” Fast said. “We have a lot of talent, and at different times during the season we’ve had different people show those flashes of greatness. At the conference meet, we need to have our best race as we have done in years past.”
The Lawrence women made a huge leap in 2013 when they finished third after taking eighth place in 2012. With four returning all-conference runners, the Vikings have firmly established themselves as a title contender.
“We were a little disappointed last year,” Fast said. “Granted, last year we snuck up on everyone. This year we don’t have that luxury. We are one of the favorites and our runners know it. It would be a huge disappointment if we didn’t (win the title).”
The Vikings have returning all-conference performers Clare Bruning, Amy Hutchings, Cora Williams and Liz Landes. The Vikings also have standout freshman Erin Schrobilgen, who has one of the top-five times in the conference this season.
“Coach Fast’s training plan is designed to deliver us to that finish line on Saturday in our fastest times of the season,” said Bruning, a junior from Mondovi who finished sixth at the MWC Championships last season. “On race day we just need to keep that in mind, trust that we are ready and that we have what it takes to make it happen. If we work together like we always do and keep our heads on straight, our bodies should follow.”
Schrobilgen and Bruning have consistently been the Vikings’ top two runners all season, but the team is so deep that any number of other runners could score for Lawrence. That’s a good problem to have so even if one runner has an off-day, someone else is right there to step up.
“The team is aiming to win,” Bruning said. “We haven’t won a conference title in over a decade, and for the first time in a long time, I think we’re in a good position to go for it.”
On the men’s side, Appleton native Max Edwards is leading the charge for the Vikings. He has one of the top-10 times in the league this season and is joined by last year’s fourth- and fifth-place finishers from the league championships, senior Kyle Dockery and junior Jonah Laursen.
“The men are ready to go,” Fast said. “We’ve had little bumps and bruises along the way that have held us back. Everyone is healthy and in good spirits. They are definitely prepared to run their best. When you go through and look up and down our men’s roster and you look at the running resumes those guys have, it’s hard for us not to be a favorite.”
While Edwards, Dockery and Laursen figure to run near the front, it will be the last two point scorers that could prove to be the difference.
“The victory will probably end up going to whatever team has the least time between their third and fifth guys, so we hope to have both a lead runner and a strong pack,” Dockery said.
“As a team the men are looking to have at least four guys run all-conference (the top 20 finishers)and win the conference title. Personally, I hope to improve on my fourth-place finish from last year.”
Lawrence has traditionally run its best race of the season at the conference championships since Fast took over the program in 2009. This season they have the added benefit of running in front of a partisan crowd.
“We are familiar with the course. We know where it’s challenging. We know where we can do the things we want to do. It think it’s an advantage for us to run at home,” Fast said. “Some of our upperclassmen have run on it multiple times so they know what to do on it to be successful.”