Going The Distance

The Long Beach State cross country team kicked off the 2009 season on Sept. 5 with a bang, placing second in both the men's and women's races at the Fullerton Season opener. The women competed against 25 other schools and fell short of the top spot by 12 points. The men were in a field of 19, losing to Cal Poly Pomona by a mere 10 points. In cross country, points are based off of each runner's time, with the overall score comprised of the top five runner's scores.

While the high finish wasn't necessarily surprising, second year head coach Patrick Cunniff didn't expect the team to hit its stride until later in the season. The early success not only builds confidence within the program and momentum going in to key future meets, it sends a message to the rest of the region that the 49ers are a team to be reckoned with, acªcording to Cunniff.

"The meet went really well," Cunniff said. "We like to start out with a relatively low-key meet, and we ran better than I expected us to. It showed all of the hard work and preparation leading up to the season paid off."

According to Cunniff, each year the team doesn't meet for official pracªtices until August, so the entire off-season is comprised of individual work. Such a long period of unsupervised practices could lead to cutting corners on a lot of teams, but the upper-class leadership set a tone that will be maintained throughout the rest of the year.

"The strong work ethic has continued through the season," Cunniff said. "We have three or four guys running 100 miles a week, and some of our top women are running 75-85 miles on a weekly basis."

The men's team has returned several experienced standouts that Cunniff expects to drive the team's success this year. Leading the pack is fifth-year seªnior Dylan Jaedtke, who was the team's top runner two years ago before red-shirting last year. Jaedtke, a native of Simi Valley, Calif. owns the 11th fastest 8k time in school history at 24:50.

Junior Travis Kuhlman is also expected to make a significant impact this year after leading the team in the 10k race at the Western Regionals the last two years running. Among the others expected to make critical contributions are sophomores Raul Arcos and Matt Maldonado, who each competed in six races for the 49ers last season.

On the women's side, junior Jennifer Rodriguez leads a team filled with young talent. Sophomore Alisia Barajas returns after being a major contribuªtor in her freshman campaign. Sophomore Elisabeth Ramos, a transfer from University of San Diego, is a welcomed addition. Talented freshman Annie Randall, a herªalded recruit out of Saugus, Calif. is expected to play a huge role as well.

In the season opener, Randall led the team in the 6k race with a time of 23:11.40 seconds, and was followed closely by Barajas, Ramos, and Rodriguez, who all finished within 28 seconds of Randall.

The men were led by Arcos, Jaedtke, Josh Ruff, Steven DeCasªtro, and Jacob Ainsworth, who all finished under 27 minutes in the 8k race. Only Cal Poly Pomona, a team returning 11 runners, had a better overall score than the 49ers.

While the impressive opening showing has helped jumpstart the season, the team knows that many challenges lay ahead. In fact, Coach Cunniff believes the team may be a victim of circumstance given the high-level of talent throughout the rest of the region this season, particularly in the men's division.

"This year is one of the best years I've ever seen for men's cross country in the Big West and Western Region," Cunªniff said. "We have one of our best teams ever, but it will still be an uphill challenge."

Cunniff cited Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as the top team in the conferªence, with four or five other teams posing as strong threats to the 49ers. With October meets at Stanford, Santa Clara, and Cal State Fullerton, the team will be tested early on how they can match up with the rest of the west. The difficult schedule has not dampened the spirits of the men's team however, who are adamant about reaching their preseason goals.

"Our base goal every year is to be in the top 15 in the region," Cunniff said. "But both teams have set an ultimate goal of being in the top 10 in the region and top 3 in the conference."

With all eyes on the season, Coach Cunniff hasn't forgotten about the future of the program. With so much player turnover in college athletics due to injuries, transfers, ineligibility, and graduation, it's essential to place a high emphasis on recruiting year in and year out.

"We're always looking at the top prospects (per NCAA rules, coaches aren't allowed to talk about specific athªletes)," Cunniff said. "And with our continuing success and building the reputation of our program we expect to land talented runners.