Cross Country teams look to achieve unprecedented success for 2015 season

The men’s and women’s cross country teams look to build off the success experienced last season to reach more ambitious goals.

“For the men, the goal is to win the first ever RMAC championship. We were second last year and we are in a good spot this year,” Head Coach Chris Siemers said. “For the Women, the goal is to finish in the top three in the RMAC. We are going to strive to make history. It will be a lot of work, but that is the goal and everyone is pushing towards it and we definitely have the potential this year.”

Senior Taylor Baird shares the same hopes for the women’s cross country team this year.

“We want to get top four in our region, which would be a challenge this year,” Baird said. “Being the top three of the RMAC would help us to that goal, and we have a few schools on our radar that if we get our pack ahead of theirs, we will be successful.”

According to Siemers, being a part of the RMAC means being part of one of the best conferences in division II for cross country.

“Higher elevation schools have been powerhouses,” he said. “Only one other team in recent history has won outside of the RMAC. It has been Adams and Western winning the national championship the past couple of years. We are striving for beating them, getting better to give them a good shot for RMAC.” Although the team does not have any meets in Golden this season, there are opportunities for students to go out and support the team.

“Colorado College is not too far if anyone has a Saturday morning free. We will be racing our top athletes. The event starts at 9 so people would be able to start heading back by 11,” Siemers said.

Baird feels having fans support the team would benefit the runners.

“It helps a lot. A lot of people probably do not care about our sport,” Senior Taylor Baird. “Having people show up is helpful. The more people telling you that you can do it, the better, because racing is painful. Also, it is nice to feel our sport is appreciated.”