The cross country team dealt with an abbreviated season that was cut even shorter when they encountered an 8-ton crane in route to one of their meets, weathered a lack of players and spent a year away from the sport thanks to Hurricane Katrina.

And on Saturday, despite it all, team members Matt Cagigal, finance senior, and Mary Erin Imwalle, mass communication junior, took first place honors; and as a team, the ‘Pack finished third in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference championships at the Choctaw Trails in Clinton, Miss.

Cagigal and teammate Richard Bouckaert, history senior, swapped places from two years ago when Bouckaert finished first and Cagigal second in the GCAC championships.

Both runners improved their times by more than a minute.

Imwalle also improved from her second place finish two seasons ago, taking the top spot in 20 minutes and 49 seconds.

Their third place team finish came after coach Al Seither wasn’t even sure he could field a team at the beginning of the season.

“I told myself, I’d rather be last place than not field a team,” he said

And he avoided that.

The third-year head coach was able to garner interest from two recruits.

“Picking up new kids that weren’t experienced on a collegiate level and put in time – they went through a lot of frustration.”

Seither said of recruits Zach Custer, English writing junior, and Chris Tyree, political science freshman: “They worked hard to do well enough to please me, I wished I had a couple more weeks to work with them.”

NEXT STOP: REGION XIII

The Pack will return to Clinton for the NAIA Region XIII championships Nov. 4. Seither said his main objective is to beat Jesuit rival Spring Hill after narrowly missing second place by eight points against them.

Top team winners in men’s and women’s as well as the top 10 individuals will qualify for the NAIA National Championships in Louisville, Ky., at a date yet to be determined.

“It’s gonna be a lot tougher … there are a few schools that could make qualifying difficult,” Seither said.

Michael Nissman can be reached at [email protected].