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Sophomore
Nicole Blalock returns as one of the few
cross country runners who remained healthy
over the summer. Steve Gibbons
Summer
brings injuries, new long distance coach
to cross country team
By
Michael Bower
Online Forty-Niner
Sports Editor
Summer
didn't treat the men's or women's cross
country teams very well as injuries and
eligibility issues forced them to pull out
of the opening run of the year at the Cal
State Fullerton Invite this weekend.
The
men and women will instead make their first
appearance at the UC Irvine Invite on Sept.
11 at Central Park in Huntington Beach.
"They
are running, but they are hurt," Head
Coach Andy Sythe said. "They are not
nearly at the mileage they need to be at."
The
summer workout program was put into place
by ex-cross country Head Coach Geoff Masanet.
Masanet left Long Beach State for a job
at Eastern Illinois, and now the 49ers are
left with numerous injuries.
But
Sythe and new long distance coach Matt Roe
are upbeat about the upcoming season.
"We
have not lost any optimism with our season,"
Sythe said. "We still think we have
enough time to get where we want."
Roe
arrived to take the long distance coaching
job at Cal State Long Beach just a week
ago. He comes from Western Illinois, where
he was the head distance coach and made
a dramatic turnaround in the program at
the Division-I school.
Roe
took the Westwinds from sixth place to a
second place finish at the Mid Con Cross
Country Championships in his first two seasons.
In his three year stint at Western, Roe
developed 24 All-Mid Con athletes, three
conference championships and two school
records.
Sythe
had nothing but good things to say about
Roe.
"He
is an outstanding coach who has proven himself
as a recruiter," Sythe said. "He
brings knowledge and understanding. The
guy has been a winner and is experienced.
He is ready to take this job."
Roe
certainly has his hands full with all the
injuries to the team. He understands it
is going to take time to get his team to
the level he wants them at.
"Our
first goal is to get healthy," Roe
said. "Second, everybody has to get
adjusted to my training system and build
for the future. When I say future I mean
the end of the season. Our best days are
not in the near future, but certainly down
the road."
A
key injury to the men's team is to All-Big
West Conference runner Terrance Wilkins.
Wilkins suffered lower-leg injuries during
the summer and is out indefinitely, according
to Sythe. Sythe said he does not know the
exact injury to Wilkins.
The
men's team has much more depth than the
women's team so not much recruiting was
done this season, but Sythe spoke highly
of one transfer from Cal State San Bernadino,
Jimmy Grabow.
"He
has potential of being super good,"
Sythe said. "He is the real deal. He
might be the best runner in this program
since 1987."
The
women's team is struggling to find the depth
that the men's team brings, but Sythe says
there is enough talent to still compete
even though the depth is not there.
A
big contributor to the women's team last
year as a freshman was Nicole Blaylock.
Blaylock is one of the few that are healthy
enough to run regularly and she is very
healthy, according to Sythe.
With
all the injuries and new changes taking
place in the workout programs, Sythe and
Roe have set realistic goals for their team.
"We
want to run tough and stay healthy and run
our best at Big West and the regional at
the end of the year," Roe said.
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