Friday, Oct. 30, William and Mary men’s cross country competed in the Coastal Athletic Association championships. The Tribe claimed the conference title — its 29th in program history — after finishing five seconds faster on average than second-place Stony Brook.
Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Adam Smith secured the championship win in his first year with the Tribe.
“All year we talked about how winning conference championships was very important in setting the standard that we would like to create for our program,” Smith wrote in a statement to The Flat Hat. “Having the guys do their jobs, step up for each other and take care of business to get our first one together was a special moment for our locker room, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
Heading into Friday’s race, Smith kept his message to the team straightforward, emphasizing his trust in their training.
“The message to the team was simple,” Smith said. “You’re all ready, you’re prepared, let’s go out there and run for each other and this program.”
The Tribe took the message to heart. Graduate student Alex Jordan and senior Hayes Trapp set the standard in the 8K, finishing in the top three with times of 24:00.3 and 24:08.0, respectively.
Four other runners recorded top-15 finishes.
“Our consistency up front and our depth was what impressed me this weekend,” Smith said. “Hayes and Alex have been solid all season long as low sticks, and we’ve had about 5-7 guys all come through all season to be there on the back end.”
The William and Mary standouts were recognized after the race, with Jordan, Trapp, junior Caleb Wilcox, sophomore Tristan Thurneysen, senior Eric Fagan and sophomore Nolan Yeagle earning All-CAA honors.
“Caleb, Eric, Tristan, and Nolan all had great days to be all-conference for us, and our guys did a great job of setting an aggressive tone early on and finishing the job,” Smith said.
While Smith and the team celebrated Friday’s victory, the Tribe must now turn its attention toward postseason competition on the national stage.
At the upcoming National Collegiate Athletic Association Southeast Regional Championships in Spartanburg, S.C. Friday, Nov. 13, athletes will instead compete in the 10K.
“The preparation is there,” Smith said. “We have gotten better as a group each week, and we will be ready for our toughest test of the season next week in South Carolina.”
