By By: Henry Freese
Staff Writer
As a light drizzle fell from an overcast sky, and the temperature hovered in the mid-to-upper 50s and low 60s, the IU South Bend Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams competed at the 2018 Bethel College Cross Country Invitational on last Friday evening at St. Patrick’s Park.
The IU South Bend Men’s Cross Country team finished in fourteenth place as a team, and was anchored by a strong performance by freshman Sean Carlin. Carlin competed in the 8,000-meter (4.971 mile) cross country race, with a finishing time of 31 minutes, 24.9 seconds.
Carlin finished in 151th place. Jacob Kasarda, a junior, finished in 159th place, with a finishing time of 32 minutes, 27.1 seconds. Chad Kavas, a junior, finished in 163rd place, with a finishing time of 33 minutes, 22.7 seconds. Blake Logsdon, a senior, finished in 164th place, with a finishing time of 33 minutes, 42.8 seconds. Brian Hernandez, a junior, finished in 165th place, with a finishing time of 33 minutes, 44.1 seconds.
“All the guys are very competitive and we feed off each other to keep at it, so I think of us as a unit,” said Carlin.
Rounding out the field for the IU South Bend Men’s Cross Country team was Roberto Leon, a senior, who finished in 172nd place, with a finishing time of 36 minutes, 03.1 seconds. One hundred seventy-eight runners took part in this year’s Bethel College Cross Country Invitational men’s cross country race.
The IU South Bend Women’s Cross Country team competed in the 5,000-meter (3.11 mile) cross country race, but did not qualify for placement as a team, as they only had three runners competing the Bethel Invitational. In order to qualify, a minimum of five runners on a team are required to qualify for a placement position.
Erin Guzicki, a senior, finished in 118th place, with a finishing time of 21 minutes, 44.9 seconds. Damaris Wyant, a freshman, finished in 141st place, with a finishing time of 22 minutes, 52.2 seconds. Taylor Nemtuda, a sophomore, finished in 148th place, with a finishing time of 23 minutes, 17.1 seconds. One hundred eighty-nine runners took part in this year’s Bethel College Cross Country Invitational women’s cross country race.
“My goal every time I race is to get a better time than the last race. I feel that my performance this race was better than I expected. I PR’d [personal record] by over a minute. I feel that every time we all race we all continue to improve and help each other reach our personal goals,” said Erin Guzicki.
“This season has panned out kind of like how I thought it would. We are not one of the top teams, but we try hard, we work hard,” said Rob Carrasco, head coach of IU South Bend’s men’s and women’s cross country teams. “We are a close team. Everybody likes each other. Because of that, we are going to get better and better runners to come to Indiana University South Bend, and when we can do that, we will be in the top.”
Upcoming races for the Indiana University South Bend Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams include the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Great Lakes Challenge, in Grand Rapids, Mich., at Riverside Park, at 11:00 a.m., followed by The Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Cross Country Championships, on Nov. 3 in Bettendorf, Iowa, at Crow Creek Park, at 12:45 p.m.
