Red Devil harriers overcome tough conditions

Sports

October 1, 2013 - 12:00 AM

STILLWATER, Okla. — Body language can be telling.
As a pack of Allen Community College cross country runners neared the final stretch of their 8-kilometer jaunt through the slick hillsides of central Oklahoma, their eyes — their faces — had the look of a team that was beat, head coach Vince DeGrado said.
“You know that look,” he said. ‘It’s one that says ‘I’m in trouble.’ We had that look.”
That’s why Allen’s finish left DeGrado so optimistic about his team’s fortunes.
Despite their struggles earlier in the race, the Red Devils still brought home several top-30 finishes, enough to give ACC men second place overall in the college division of the OSU Cowboy Jamboree.
Allen was led by Brandon Bernal, a converted track and field star, who finished ninth overall at 26 minutes, 51.7 seconds.
He was followed in short order by Jacob Spence in 14th, Dallas Snider at 16th, Angel Vasquez in 22nd, Kyle Schauvliege in 24th and Tucker Morgan in 26th.
“I was really happy with how we handled ourselves,” DeGrado said. “It was a tough day, but the guys fought through it.”
Allen’s 80 team points were 18 behind Oklahoma Baptist University’s 62.
Oklahoma Baptist is the fifth-ranked NAIA university in the country, DeGrado noted.
More important than the times — obviously affected by the grueling course set up at the Oklahoma State University campus, amid a steady rain at times — DeGrado was more impressed with the teams Allen beat.
“We beat teams like Garden City (ranked eighth nationally), Colby (fifth) and El Paso (sixth). Our pack time (the difference between Allen’s first and fifth-fastest runners) was about 30 seconds. That’s championship caliber running,” Degrado said.
Allen’s depth continues to shine, DeGrado said.
For example, Jacob Spence was ACC’s sixth-fastest runner at a meet in Joplin one week earlier. On Saturday, he was the second-fastest among the Red Devils.
“You have guys like Trail Spears who finished in our top eight and Tucker Morgan, who have really improved for us,” DeGrado said.
Now, it’s up for the Red Devils to finish the 2013 season with a similar kick. Allen has one regular season competition remaining Oct. 12 at the Fort Hays Tiger Open.
After that is the KJCCC Region VI and Jayhawk Conference championships Oct. 28 in Hutchinson and the NJCAA championships Nov. 9 in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
“We still have work to do if we want to take that next step and become an elite program,” DeGrado said.

ON THE WOMEN’S side, Denae McGee continues to thrive.
She finished seventh overall, finishing her 5K in 19:48.0.
“That’s one second slower than her time here last year,” DeGrado said, “and in much worse conditions. For her to do that well was impressive.”
The rest of the women’s team struggled in the elements, however.
“That’s my fault,” DeGrado said. “We have so much depth on the men’s team we can go all out, but we can’t do that with our women. I’ve done things conservatively with them earlier this year, but it’s time for us to step up and show the team what we’re capable of being.”
The Red Devil women finished 13th with 345 points. Like the men’s side, Oklahoma Baptist’s women won with 62 points.
OSU Cowboy Classic
Women (5k)
7. Danae McGee, 19:48.0
94. Tirzah Soap, 22:25.2
104. Mahalia Soap, 22:38.5
107. Alisn Stevens, 22:43.2
121. Caitlin Boeckman, 23:10.2
Men (8k)
9. Brandon Bernal, 26:51.7
14. Jacob Spence, 27:03.7
16. Dallas Snider, 27:06.8
22. Angel Vasquez, 27:21.8
24. Kyle Schauvliege, 27:24.8
26. Tucker Morgan, 27:30.0
33. Ryan Pulsifer, 27:47.8
39. Trail Spears, 27:55.3
42. Salvador Medrano, 28:01.5
53. Patrick Rachford, 28:12.8
62. Denver Parker, 28:28.6
70. Diego Sanchez, 28:52.0
81. Connor Immenschuh, 29:09.5

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