Men's Cross Country

John Carroll men's cross country heads into the conference championship prepared and ready to challenge against the top runners across the OAC.

On Saturday, the Blue Streaks travel to Columbus for a showdown at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships, hosted by Capital University.

At last year's competition in Berea, JCU was defeated by ONU and edged out Mount Union by 13 points.  Four top-11 finishes by the Polar Bears prevented the Blue Streaks from seizing the crown.

John Carroll is looking to put that memory in the past and build off the successes of 2016.

Head coach Kyle Basista believes that the team is ready to move forward after a third-place finish at All-Ohio. "That was not a meet we were shooting for and in that one month of difference, we have gotten a lot better," he said. "I trust in our process.  We'll see how it plays out on Saturday."

The JCU team set up their schedule to have runners peaking against ranked runners. At the Rowan University Border Battle, the group turned in strong times against national competition.

Elliot Thorkelson and Matt Andrews are no strangers to this meet and the pressure that comes with it. This will be both Andrews' and Thorkelson's third career OAC Championship meet. The pair finished sixth and 16th, respectively, in the OAC Championships last year. Last week, Elliot Thorkelson received the honor of OAC Runner of the Week for his 35th place performance (24:24.8) at the Rowan University Border Battle. Andrews ran a 24:51, which placed him 72nd. 

Basista was not surprised by the achievement.  "[Thorkelson] established himself early as a top-level performer and has experience at the national level."  Basista understands the necessity of this combination, ending with "Elliot has his confidence level back."

The team has a strong supporting cast as well, and all members will be necessary for the race.  Coach Basista knows his team is ready.  "These runners understand the importance of team and are great at feeding off one another.  They are hungry runners who want to work for each other.  They will give their all, and we will live with the results."

With much at stake, JCU is ready to take the next step toward their ultimate goal on Saturday morning.

Women's Cross Country

Momentum is crucial going into the biggest race of the year and the John Carroll women's cross country team feels that they have more than enough to go around.

At last year's OAC meet in Berea, the squad (53) was barely beaten out by ONU's Polar Bears (43), and finished just ahead of the Mount Union Purple Raiders. The top five runners for JCU all finished with OAC honors, led by Becky Rohwer and Schasia Modrzynski, who finished with top 10 finishes.  

The Blue Streaks feel they have all the pieces in order heading into a battle for the conference's ultimate prize, as four of the top-seven from that team return. Kiley, Modrzynski and Rohwer each took top-25 places in that championship. 

The experienced JCU team is coming off their best finish since 2011 at the All-Ohio Championships. Despite the finish, Basista feels the team has not found their best times yet. "It was not our absolute best and we're still improving quite a bit."  Basista sets a high bar, as JCU took third-place in the D-III competition. "The improvement on this team is stronger than any I have ever seen," Basista admitted.

While the team is filled with experienced runners, there are also some underclassmen performing at a high level.  "We love having underclassmen step up to the plate.  This team doesn't care who is there, they just love to see team success," remarked Basista.

"This team is already hungry and excited to compete.  They are always a highly motivated group looking to push the envelope."  The squad is coming off a 17th place finish at the Rowan Inter-Regional Border Battle, as Erin Kiley took 45th place (22:03.2) against three of the top-five teams in the USTFFCA poll. That mark came while all five teammates made top-35 finishes back at All-Ohio.

Basista reiterates the team aspect of this meet. "There is no focus on one particular person to succeed, but we will all do what we can to win.  Even if we don't [win], we will know we tried.  We'll see what happens."

Both Blue Streaks squads begin their battle for the OAC Championship on Saturday morning.