Cardinal Cross Country Opens Season at Goucher
Sept 1, 2023 - Towson MD.
The men's cross-country team has been training hard since August 1st in preparation for their season opener on September 1st. 7th-year head coach Mark Pryor trusted his returning athletes to complete their summer mileage. He was hopeful that the incoming freshman would be diligent in logging their mileage. Thus, their first race of the 2023 season who be an indicator of what was done this summer. Coach Pryor was very pleased with his athlete's fitness level.
Training has been going very well for the team so Coach Pryor instructed his team to run the 1st mile hard and see how well they could handle the remaining 2 miles in the 5-kilometer (3.1 mile) race. The training before this race was intense. Coach Pryor was very intent on preparing the team for the bigger picture or the "championship" phase of the season as opposed to tapering down. The athlete's legs were still a little tired from training but mentally they were ready.
Sophomore Keynaud Randolph was the leader of last year's team in every meet. Randolph picked up where he left off and again led his team with his performance at Goucher. Last year, he ran a career-best 17:48 for the 5k distance. On Friday, he posted a 17:59.0 time which means that if fresh, Randolph would have greatly improved his 5k career best. His sophomore teammate Ethan Bush produced similar results with his time.
But the biggest and best surprise of the day belonged to freshman Gamaliel Adejo who comes to CCBC Catonsville from Western Tech High School in Baltimore County. Gamaliel's highlight in high school was winning the Class 1A Outdoor T&F State Championship in the high jump. But he also competed in the 400m/800m events. Friday's meet was his first-ever cross-country race which according to Coach Pryor was an excellent performance. Usually, there is an adjustment period, but Gamaliel was not afraid of the distance, terrain, or collegiate competition. His time of 18:50 is a fantastic starting point. Fellow freshman Ronak Rami didn't know what to expect as this was also his first ever cross-country race, but Coach Pryor was encouraged by his performance (19:36).
Full individual and team results of the Baltimore XC Metro Meet can be found at this link:
https://tfrrs.org/results/xc/21492/
The next scheduled competition is set for Sept 15th hosted by Delaware State Univ at the Agriculture Farms in Delmarva DE. Coach Pryor is very confident that his student-athletes will continue their training and improve on their 5k times. The team's first 8k (5.0 miles) race will be at the nationally ranked Paul Short Run at Lehigh University in Bethlehem PA.
GO CARDINALS!!!!! #JUCOProduct