Men run to fourth at Southern Cal preview
PJ RAMIRO
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: Sports
Finishing 38 out of 365 runners is a great accomplishment for anyone considering how many people were in the race. But for sophomore runner Alex Gorney, who always has high expectations, finishing number 38 is a very big disappointment.
The men's cross country team finished fourth at the Southern California Preview on Saturday at Bakersfield. Coming in first place was Orange Coast, followed by American River and Mt. San Antonio. In their last two races the Warriors have finished fifth and fourth respectively, which is a great feat for any team. But Gorney said the team could have been a lot better.
"In the last two races, individually I've been on a major slump; as a team, we need to run a little bit harder," Gorney said.
Gorney said that part of the reason the men have not been doing well is some of their runners are injured. Freshman runner Patrick O'Rourke is injured with a high ankle sprain, which will definitely affect the team.
"(O'Rourke) is a big part of what we do, he's one of our top seven runners," Gorney said.
With the men's team being banged up, they haven't had a chance to be at full strength for their races. With O'Rourke being injured, Noah Lopez made his season debut for the Warriors. Along with Gorney, Lopez was also disappointed in himself for finishing low in the race.
"(Lopez) was upset that he didn't do his best, but we told him not to get mad because it was his first race," Gorney said.
EC's top runner, Steven Calise, finished sixth with a time of 20:45. Calise had a chance to finish first, but ran out of gas at the end.
"He was in first place for a pretty good amount of time during the race along with the rest of the pack, but he didn't have enough legs under him to finish," assistant coach Sean Sheil said. "But I told (Calise) that he ran one heck of a race and he shouldn't beat himself up for it."
Sheil said he believes that despite of their fourth place finish, he thinks that the men are a top ten team.
The men's cross country team finished fourth at the Southern California Preview on Saturday at Bakersfield. Coming in first place was Orange Coast, followed by American River and Mt. San Antonio. In their last two races the Warriors have finished fifth and fourth respectively, which is a great feat for any team. But Gorney said the team could have been a lot better.
"In the last two races, individually I've been on a major slump; as a team, we need to run a little bit harder," Gorney said.
Gorney said that part of the reason the men have not been doing well is some of their runners are injured. Freshman runner Patrick O'Rourke is injured with a high ankle sprain, which will definitely affect the team.
"(O'Rourke) is a big part of what we do, he's one of our top seven runners," Gorney said.
With the men's team being banged up, they haven't had a chance to be at full strength for their races. With O'Rourke being injured, Noah Lopez made his season debut for the Warriors. Along with Gorney, Lopez was also disappointed in himself for finishing low in the race.
"(Lopez) was upset that he didn't do his best, but we told him not to get mad because it was his first race," Gorney said.
EC's top runner, Steven Calise, finished sixth with a time of 20:45. Calise had a chance to finish first, but ran out of gas at the end.
"He was in first place for a pretty good amount of time during the race along with the rest of the pack, but he didn't have enough legs under him to finish," assistant coach Sean Sheil said. "But I told (Calise) that he ran one heck of a race and he shouldn't beat himself up for it."
Sheil said he believes that despite of their fourth place finish, he thinks that the men are a top ten team.
Be the first to comment on this story