PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Members of the University of Maine at Presque Isle men’s and women’s cross country teams are preparing for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association national championships, to be held on Friday, Nov. 10, in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Both meets will be held at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex and the course will take the participants around the Princess Anne Athletic Complex.
The men qualified as a team and all of the members will compete, while the women will be sending Emmy Churchill as their lone representative.
Emma Churchill (Contributed)
“This is the race we prepare for all year,” said Head Coach Chris Smith. “We’ve worked through some minor injuries and illnesses but are ready to go after our best performances of the season.
“We’ll see the best the USCAA has to offer and will finally go head-to-head with them. Our fitness has been attained and we now simply need to get out of ourselves what we’ve stored up all season,” he added. “I’m sure we’ll race up to our individual and, consequently, our team potentials.”
Kyle Davis, Danny Gilotti, Jesus Gonzalez IV, Andrew Hunt and Saul Nunez will compete for the Owl men at the meet.
The squad has shown improvement all season long and Smith said the runners are looking forward to the challenge. The men’s eight-kilometer race gets underway at 10:30 a.m.
Churchill was a late addition to the Owls’ women’s team this season, but is no stranger to the sport as she competed while attending Washburn District High School. It did not take long for Churchill to return to her form as she quickly became the team’s top runner. She will be running a six-kilometer distance that begins at 9:30 a.m.
