Men’s Cross Country team hold banner Athena Reum
On Saturday, Nov. 9 2024, the Saint Xavier Cougars Cross-Country team traveled to Crow Creek Park in Bettendorf, IA. to compete in the CCAC Championship. The Cougars returned to Chicago, IL. with four national qualifiers eager to be named All-American.
The grandest accolade of them all was Senior Cross Country Runner, Issac Sytsma becoming a back-to-back CCAC-Champion in the Men’s 8k with a time of 24:45.8. To add on, Sytsma also qualified for the NAIA Men’s Cross Country National Championships and ran the third fastest time in program history for the 8k run.
“I felt good after the race. Winning motivated me to keep striving for more. The job’s not done though[.] I’m already looking forward to the next race and continuing to work toward becoming an All-American,” Sytsma expressed.
Sytsma’s success rubbed off on the team as his teammate Senior Cross Country Runner, Lexi Clarke, placed the highest for the Cougars at seventh place in the women’s 6k. Clarke was named All-CCAC with a time of 22:55.3 and qualified for the NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championship. With her qualifying time being a personal best, she is locked in on nationals.
Back to the men’s side, Senior Cross Country Runner, Jonathan Jacobo placed not too far away from Sytsma in sixth place in the men’s 8k race with a time of 25:20.3. Jacobo also earned All-CCAC and qualified for the NAIA Men’s Cross Country National Championships. This is the second year in the row Jacobo qualified for nationals and was named All-CCAC in cross country.
“I am excited to compete at Nationals next week to see how far I can push myself past my limits. I am also excited to see how much faster I can run on track. Hopefully I can hit a national mark for track,” Jacobo mentioned.
Switching back over to the women’s side, Senior Cross Country Runner, Olivia Mathis would finish in ninth place in the women’s 6k run, finishing with a time of 23:11.2. Mathis, like Clarke, was named All-CCAC and qualified for the NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championships. Mathis was also named All-CCAC and qualified for nationals, including Jacobo.
“It was a very tough race for me but I’m proud I didn’t give up and thankful to have made it this far and was able to qualify for nationals this year,” Mathis had to say on the CCAC Championship.
The Cougars performed well on both men and women’s sides. The men placed third in the CCAC while the women placed sixth in the conference.
The men had four runners that finished in the top 25. Including Sytsma,Jacobo, and Senior Cross Country Runner, Luke Snedden who placed 17th. As well as Senior Cross Country Runner, Josiah Sianez who placed 22nd.
The women would only have the two runners, Clarke and Mathis who placed in the top 25. The next best runner for the Cougars would be Junior Cross Country Runner, Yanira Deana Paninka who placed 38th.
As the Cougars Cross Country season comes to an end besides what happened at the CCAC, there were some memorable moments this season.
Sytsma broke the school record in the 8k run and shaved off almost 20 seconds of his personal best with a time of 24:37.6 in the Seminole Stampede in Cedar Rapids, IA. In that meet the men finished third out of eighteen teams.
The women’s highlight of this season comes from Seminole Stampede when Mathis broke the school record in the 6k run. Mathis became the first woman on the women’s cross country team to run under 23 minutes in a 6k with a 22:19.9, beating Hall of Famer SXU Cross Country Runner, Mary Farrel by twelve seconds. The women’s team would also place sixth out of fifteen teams.
Now that the CCAC Championship is in the past, Sytsma, Jacobo, Clarke, and Mathis prepare for nationals. It will take place Friday Nov. 22, at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo. at 11:30 am Central Time.