After strong finishes by both the mens and womens cross country teams at the Heps finals, the Red is headed to Hamonnasset, Conn. for the NCAA Northeast Regional meet. At this point in the season, coaches are restricted to fielding a squad of only seven runners for the NCAA regional meet.

According to womens cross country coach Artie Smith 96, selecting the team he wanted to field was both easy and difficult.

On the one hand its easy, but its also tough, he said. Its easy because there are certain athletes I know can run well, but its tough because we have such a deep team. Part of the reason weve been so good this year is because weve had great depth.

Mens cross country coach Zeb Lang 03 said that he based his selection on individual performances up to this point.

I selected our team based on performance up to date, he said. Its my best seven to date that Ill be taking to the NCAA Regional championships.

While hes happy that his team won the Heps, Smith spoke about how his teams goal was to remain competitive all season, even beyond the Heps.

I would say that with this group, the reason they were successful at the Heps is because they have aspirations of being successful above the Heps, he said. Theyve had the goal the whole season of being successful at the national level, and I think their focus has been consistent and straightforward all season.

Lang echoed those sentiments, and went on to describe how his team has performed according to his expectations up to this point in the season, a team he characterizes as being very resilient.

These guys have exceeded my expectations, he said. Every time weve had adversity or a bump in the road, theyve responded. Weve had younger guys step to the forefront and raise their game to another level.

As one of the top teams in the Northeast Region, the womens team is expected to fare well this weekend against the rest of the Northeast. Smith feels that his team doesnt have to do anything out of the ordinary to compete well.

Read more from the original source:

CROSS COUNTRY | After Strong Showing at Heps, Red Heads to NCAA Regional