The Observer, August 29, 2008
Volume XLI, Issue 1
Men continue to work toward Nationals goal
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For this year's men's cross country runners, getting ready for the upcoming season didn't just mean grueling runs and tough workouts. It also meant an awkward conversation with your barber after he finished cutting your hair. More specifically, it meant asking if you could keep the hair that had fallen to the ground. Because your team's mascot is a huge Ziplock bag full of hair called, "The Beast."
"It's one of the most disgusting things you could possibly see," said senior and co-captain Mike Petro. According to those on the team, The Beast is also good luck and is taken with the team on the road. The bag is kept at the off-campus house of six senior men's cross country runners who form the core of the men's team.
That core consists of Petro, Dominic Smith, Josh Ward, Ryan Gjoraas, Nick Farkas, and co-captain Mike Werneiwski. Their goal last year was to qualify for the national championships in Northfield, Minn.; they printed t-shirts that read "Send Gjoraas Home." He's a native of Plymouth, Minn.
Ultimately, they fell just short. Their eighth-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional wasn't enough to qualify them for the national meet; only the top five teams in each region are considered for a spot.
"I'm not disappointed," said Lanese after the race. "I'm just heartbroken." Smith, 19, went as an individual and finished 51st out of the field of 280 runners, with a time of 25:26. "Dom just missed out on All-American… I think he has a shot for a top-10 finish [at NCAAs]," said Werneiwski. Along with Smith, sophomore Reza Mohammadpour looks to factor in as a key player up front. He was out much of last year with injuries and didn't compete in track in order to recuperate.
This year, the men have the talent to make the national championships, with all their major contributors from 2007 returning. "This is their year," said Lanese.
In the current preseason poll, Case is ranked fourth in the Great Lakes region. "Since we got here, we knew our best shot of doing something was our senior year," said Werneiwski.
The Spartans finished third in the UAA last year, behind Carnegie Mellon and NYU. While NYU lost many of their top runners, Carnegie Mellon is getting most of theirs back. "Carnegie Mellon is really strong," said Lanese. "But I don't want to say they're unstoppable." Lanese and company will get an idea of just how good the Tartans are on Oct. 18, when they'll face them at the Inter-Regional meet at Oberlin College. The UAA Championship is at Emory on Nov. 1.
According to Petro, the team's attitude is a "quiet, persistent pursuit of our goal." Their strategy is to pace themselves. Last year, the team scored some big wins in the middle of the season, including finishing ahead of Div. I Purdue at one meet, but couldn't sustain that level over the entire season.
The team's only home event is the Sudeck Classic this Saturday at the Case-owned University Farm in Hunting Valley. It starts at 11 a.m.
