COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Following a long summer and a grueling training camp, the Colorado State University Pueblo Thunderwolves opened up their 2023 Cross Country season here Saturday at the UCCS Rust Buster that was held at North Monument Valley Park.
Following a historic 2022 season which culminated in a 6th place finish in the NCAA Division II National Championships, the Pack women enter the year ranked 15th nationally in the preseason USTFCCCA poll. Meanwhile, on the men's side, the Pack grinded out a 6th place finish at the South Central Regional championships, which was not quite enough to earn them a ticket to the National Championships, they enter the season ranked 20th in the Preseason USTFCCA rankings.
On a bright and sunny day with still air and an ambient temperature in the high 70's, the Pack men braved a distance of 8-kilometers and the Pack women got ready to toe the line and race at a distance of 5 kilometers.
The course, which was mostly flat with a few small hills and the surface was gravel with a bit of grass dispersed throughout was at an elevation of 6,200 feet. The Pack found steep competition on the course, including host school UCCS, they also competed against MSU Denver, Regis University, New Mexico Highlands University, and Colorado College.
On the women's side, the Pack jumped out to an early lead as a group and set the tone for the rest of the race. Senior
Sophie Kretschmer (Aschsleben, Germany) ran a calculated and smooth 5K as she finished in third place with a time of 17:51 in her first-ever collegiate cross country meet.
In addition to Kretschmer, senior
Margot Thomas-Gatel (Chapet, Ile-de-France, France) finished right behind her teammate in fourth place with a time of 18:03. Sophomore
Jadyn Herron (Queen Creek, Ariz./Casteel) was sixth with a time of 18:17. Junior
Helen Braybrook (Frieston, United Kingdom/Oakham School) crossed the finish line in a time of 18:25 to finish in 10th place, while rounding out the Top 5 finishers was junior
Sarah Renberg (Fresno, Calif./Edison), who tallied a 5K time of 18:41 to place 15th overall. As a team, the Pack women finished in second place with 35 points. UCCS won with 28 points, while MSU Denver was a distant third with 86 points.
Meanwhile, the Pack men was tasked with running an 8K race, which is equivalent to 5 miles, and the temperature at the start of their race was roughly 71 degrees. Sophomore standout
Kaleb Beloy (Anchorage, Alaska/South Anchorage) led the men's side with a 25:38 to finish in fourth place. Up next for the Pack was senior
Daniel Beam (Rio Rancho, N.M./Rio Rancho), who finished ninth with a time of 25:43. Senior
Richard Roberds (Colorado Spring, Colo./ Mesa Ridge) was 10th place with a time of 26:01.
The new highest finisher for the Thunderwolves was junior
Reece Sharman-Newell (Hampshire, England) was 17th with a time of 26:26. The fifth and final scorer for the men was senior
Matisse Virey (Meyzeiu, France/Lycee Charlie Chaplin) with a time of 26:38. As a team, the men accounted for 55 points and took 3rd place honors.
"Coming into this, we knew we were getting the chance to compete against historically competitive programs in UCCS, MSU Denver, and New Mexico Highlands. So we had a good opportunity to compete against good rosters, see how the training is going and see what we need to work on. The guys ran well, they stayed focused, ran hard, and gave me a lot of feedback on what we can do better for the coming meets," said CSU Pueblo head coach
Matt Morris. "On the girls side, we only returned 3 of the top 7, so we have less information about our team than the guys side. All the girls that we needed to rely on, came in and did what we needed them to do. All the girls that we thought we could rely on executed their jobs exactly how we needed them to. What a great start for the season, we are significantly better this year at this point in the year compared to where we were at this point last year."
