Waynesburg Athletics Waynesburg University cross country is looking to put itself on the board and into the eyes of those within the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.
Coming up, the men’s and women’s cross-country teams will be taking on the rest of the teams within the PAC in the PAC Preview this Saturday, Sept. 26.
“My team can prepare by having a positive mindset and putting in the work during and outside of practice,” sophomore Erin Belveal said. “That being fueling, stretching, and getting in the right amount of sleep for the upcoming PAC Preview.”
The PAC Preview will feature all the teams in the conference. Athletes will be matched against other top personnel from different schools around the area, giving them a real test of strength.
The event is a preview to the upcoming PAC Championship on Oct. 31, where athletes will need to bring their “A game” against the other schools within the conference. Teams will be competing for a conference title in the championship.
“The course is really flat and mostly grass and gravel, which will make it a really fast course,” Belveal said. “The weather will also be very ideal because it will be a little chillier than past meets.”
Belveal, the sophomore from Bay High School in Bay Village, Ohio, has been a key performer on the women’s cross-country team, being the top performer in multiple meets this year.
Most recently, the Jackets were led by Belveal at the Bethany Invitational, where she crossed the finish line in 25:22.2 to place 16th overall out of 76th.
“My tactic has been just staying consistent with running and training,”Belveal said. “I have been running and weight training all summer and continued that momentum once I got to school. I also have been trying to keep a positive mindset and trust in my coach’s training plan.”
On the men’s side, a standout athlete has been Kyin Jeter, a freshman from Carrick High School in Braddock, Pennsylvania.
At the most recent Bethany Invitational, Jeter led the Jackets with a time of 31:03.4 to finish 16th overall out of 66.
“In this PAC Preview, Grove City will be our toughest opponent,” Jeter said. “Our team can work on our bonding to get our morale back up and be prepared to face any opponent.”
Head coach Chris Hardie is still optimistic and trusts his team to get the job done. This will be a big test for Hardie to see where his team stands at about the halfway point in the season.
“I think back ten years and see how the conference changed; there are a lot of question marks about what the conference will look like at the meeting,” Hardie said. “We’re going to take advantage of any weakness or opportunity for us to jump in.”
“It’s going to be really hard to get to the top half of the conference,” Hardie said. “The conference is always shifting around; some top runners graduate and some coaches either left or went to a new school.”
The upcoming PAC Preview will highlight many of the top teams and athletes to watch. Waynesburg is patching the holes and building up its program to try to be a top competitor in the conference.