Runners primed for South Region championship

The Virginia Wesleyan College cross-country team peaked just at the right time this season and achieved some accolades that were a first for the Marlins. Senior Greg Jackson and first-year runner Tara Salem were the only two runners to place in the top 14 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championships hosted by Eastern Mennonite University. This gave the two runners All- ODAC honors. It was a first for VWC men runners and Jackson, who missed All-ODAC honors by two places last year.

“It was a big accomplishment for me,” said Jackson. “I’ve wanted it since last year when I just missed it.”

For Salem, it was her first All-ODAC honor and a third time that a woman Marlin runner has ever received an All-ODAC honor.

“It was a sense of relief when I crossed the finish line to know that all the hard work really paid off,” said Salem.

Eastern Mennonite’s course was the hardest that the Marlins had experienced all year.

“I’ve never run on something like that ever,” said Salem. “It was just hill after hill after hill. You would think that after an up hill you would have a down hill, but it wasn’t the case the course would just level off and then another hill came after that.”

The Marlins trained once a week at Mt. Trashmore for hills, but even that did not prepare them for the course that they ran.

“Trashmore is nothing compared to what we endured,” said Salem. “When you see college cross country runners walking a course you know that it is very difficult.”

For the Marlins, it was an accomplishment for the whole team as no runner finished in last place and has qualified to run in the South Region Championships Nov. 13 in Atlanta, Ga.

“It is hard to say where we will stack up this weekend but I know that the runners will bring their best effort because that is the type of team that we have,” said Head Coach Mat Littleton.

The regional course will beneficial to the Marlins since it is flatter than most of the courses the team has ran on.

“Because it is flatter I’m looking to run my fastest time this year and hopefully the team will follow suit,” said Jackson.

For next season, the Marlins will return a strong core of runners. The team will lose only two seniors this year, Colleen O’Connell and Jackson.

“We’ve established a solid base for the years to come and look forward to jumping up in the ODAC standings in years to come,” said Littleton.