By Bryce Marsee
As the fall sports season comes to an end, two Taylor cross country runners gear up for one final race. Sophomore Zach Warner and freshman Jane Hawks will compete in Saturday's National Championship in Vancouver, Wash.
With a field of 105 male individual runners from across the country, it will be no easy task for a high finish, but men's cross country coach, Ted Bowers, believes Warner's improvement from freshman to sophomore year will help him during the race.
"I believe Zach's commitment to working hard and racing smart has been the biggest change from his freshman year," Bowers said. "His stamina and speed have both improved, and his awareness during a race has really made a difference."
Warner qualified for the national race after placing eighth in the Crossroads League Championship with a time of 26:07. The top-15 finish also gave Warner All-Crossroads League honors. The team was unable to qualify for nationals, finishing fourth, despite running their fastest time since 2009.
"I am pretty excited to be going to Washington," Warner said. "I'm excited to still be running this late in the season, too. I plan on treating this (race) just like a regular race and I'm going to run as fast as I can."
With the weather in Washington a major factor, Bowers said it can be a difficult race to run, but the goal is for Warner to run a sub-26-minute time and crack into the top half of the runners.
As Warner sets his eyes on a high finish in Washington, Hawks looks to do the same in her first year at the collegiate level. Hawks will compete against 108 individual women runners in Saturday's meet.
Women's cross country coach Quinn White believes that Hawks' championship experience in high school has helped her a lot through this year.
"Jane had a very successful high school career with a lot of championship success," White said. "She also had great support this year training and racing with girls on our team. The last two meets, Jane has been more aggressive, and this has helped her tremendously."
Hawks finished fifth place at the Crossroads League Championship last Saturday, recording a personal-best 18:54 and earning a spot in the national race. Along with sophomore teammates Allison Steinbeck and Elaine Schmeltz, Hawks received All-Crossroads League honors.
The Trojans missed the automatic team qualification by just one spot, finishing second behind Huntington.
"I am very blessed to be going to nationals," Hawks said. "The whole team worked very hard all summer and season and I wish that we could all go."
With an extremely competitive field in this year's race, White believes Hawks will need to continue her aggressive style of running.
"We have tried to run a few races this season to prepare for the size and competitiveness of the field," White said. "Jane will need to be a little more aggressive at the start of the race to help get an established position. Then she will need to stay focused and engaged. We are hoping for a season best time, but there are many factors that impact this."
The women's 5K race is set to start at 1:30 p.m. EST, and the men's 8K will begin at 3:45 p.m.
