CONCORDIA – Albeit small and not without some changes from a typical year, a bit of a return to normalcy is in store for the Cloud County Community College cross country teams as the T-Birds will officially kick off the 2020 season on Friday night by competing in the 2020 Terry Masterson Twilight Classic in Hutchinson.
With race times officially scheduled for 8:30 p.m. (women) and 9:05 p.m. (men), Friday will prove to be the first of many changes that the CCCC runners will have to overcome this season as Hutchinson has announced that no fans will be present inside of Fun Valley Sports Complex. For those that are wanting to make the trip and watch the teams compete, fans will be allowed to line up outside the perimeter fence in the parking lot to the west of the complex. The women will run past the perimeter three times and the men's race will make four passes. Hutchinson will also make the finish of both races available on their Facebook page, with a live stream to capture the final stretch.
In total, Cloud County is scheduled to race in three regular-season races this year before having a month to prepare for the NJCAA Region VI Championships which will be hosted by Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas before capping things off at the 2020 NJCAA Championships in Fort Dodge, Iowa. In addition to Friday night’s opener, the T-Birds are expected to compete in the Ollie Isom Invitational hosted by Butler and the Muthama-Rogers Invitational hosted by Bethel College as part of their 2020 campaign.
One thing that has stayed the same as last year is that the T-Bird men will be relying on a group of six runners as the same situation was in store for CCCC heading into the 2019 season. Having only six made for a memorable year for Cloud County last year as the team would come home with the program’s first NJCAA Region VI Title and NJCAA National Title in school history, with this year’s squad looking to build off of last year’s success. Habtamu Geta will serve as the lone returner to the squad from last year as this year’s focus will be on the opportunity to compete despite having limited chances.
“I think this year we’ve had the luxury of time and planning since March to try and figure out all the options and opportunities that we have for the upcoming season” said head coach Drew Mahin in regards to the men’s team. “We’ve been able to have a lot of team meetings over Zoom during this time and the guys have really grown together over the summer and it already feels like a team even though we’ve had limited in-person time as a group.” “Whether we get one meet, two meets, or six meets, it’s going to be a memorable experience that we hope we will be able to enjoy each day as we get them in a time of unknown.”
Geta has found himself in a leadership position as the lone returner, with newcomers Ryder Amos, Awet Beraki, Rylan Cheney, Michael Iyali, and Linus Limo making up the rest of the team for what figures to be a memorable season in one way or another. “Last year I learned a lot of leadership from Dais Malebana who has since moved on to the University of Nebraska” said Geta. “His leadership influenced me a lot in how he led and treated us as a team which really helped us come together as a group.” “This year our opportunities are limited, but it’s an opportunity that a lot of schools don’t have this year.” “We have to be grateful that we have a season, and make the most of the opportunities presented to us despite them being limited.”
Over on the women’s side, depth is something that the T-Birds will look to rely on as a group of 10 will provide a mix of both seasoned returners and newcomers who will be seeing their first collegiate competition come Friday. “Our women have put a lot of expectations on themselves which is typical for our athletes due to the planning aspects and other things that our athletes tend to focus on.” “We have a bit of a mix of everything in our 10 runners that should help as we see different types of courses in our season, but it’s great to see that we have competition within our own team as the girls push each other each and every day in practice.” “As long as we can stay stable and avoid sickness and injury, realistically we should be able to compete within the top two or three teams in our conference which is great to see after not being able to score at the Region VI meet just a year ago.”
Kya Johnson, Maryse Mbenoun, and Ludjenie will serve as the lone returners for the CCCC women, alongside sophomore transfer Patricia Koma who comes in after a year at Pratt. Freshmen Passion Crews, Abigail Fisher, Emma Holthaus, Abbey Hoover, Morgan Neeman, and sophomore Pamela Milano will all be seeing their first action at the collegiate level in a cross country meet this season, but the added numbers will provide some much depth and competition. “This year looks to be a lot of fun as we have the numbers to both compete with each other but also know that we’re a team with a common goal” said Johnson. “Limited competitions this year will allow us to really push ourselves in our off works to train while also having fresher legs throughout the year since there are so few of meets, but it’s an opportunity that hopefully will work out for us in a positive way.”
Coach Mahin would echo similar sentiments for his team as a whole, knowing that even though there’s a lot of unknowns and variables this year, there’s plenty of options to be used this season to keep his team focused on the ultimate goal of a good college experience. “Knowing what we can control and what we can’t will go a long way in being able to manage expectations this season as we are hoping for long-term growth both as an athlete and a student.” “Looking at the positive things, our athletes are getting an education, a great experience as a collegiate athlete, and growing and learning despite dealing with a worldwide pandemic, so this semester will really be a continued growth process and something that we’ll never forget as we come together as a team.”