Cross country champs endure rough weather

Ryan Olaveson OLA05001@BYUI.EDU scroll staff

Mother Nature changes plans for no one, including the cross country teams of BYU-Idaho. After a season of running in sunshine, things took a turn for the cold during the championship race, Oct. 29.

A few drops of rain mixed with a strong 15 mph breeze, put together for about 90 minutes at a staggering 30 degrees, had the makings for quite a race.

Yet these conditions didn’t slow the runners down much. “This was my best time of the season,” said overall winner Dan Lawton, a senior from Cypress, Texas.

Lawton, who finished with a time of 16 minutes, 32 seconds, said he felt pretty good and that the weather “made it feel like a real cross country race”

The runners said they had to prepare themselves to run in such brutal conditions.

“The thing about cross country is that it is a mental sport,” said Jace Johnson, a freshman from Hazelton, Idaho. Johnson told himself that “today was wonderful running weather,” and finished with a time of 18:11.

Because of the weather Lawton, the victor, said he spent time preparing mentally before the race.

Amy Eliker, a freshman from Bennet, Neb., who won the girl’s race with a time of 20:06, also said she felt good about the race. “I like the cold and I like the rain,” said Eliker. “I was happy with my win.”