Loyola’s cross-country team is now done with its regular season meets and is looking to do well in the final SSAC conference meet.

The meet will be held Nov. 9 at 8 a.m. Head coach Andy Canegitta said his runners performed well throughout the season so far.

“Pretty impressive so far, even on the guys side we’ve been doing well, despite all the injuries we had. The girls are looking strong. We’re looking pretty solid,” he said.

Canegitta also said he had high hopes for his runners in their conference meet.

“Just based on the teams we competed against, non-conference, the last couple of races, we should do fairly well,” he said. “I think we’ll do really well, even on the guy’s side, top three, hopefully. If everyone runs well that day, the girls are expected to do good things.”

The team started preparation for the meet this past week, trying to get ready physically as well as mentally. Canegitta explained how he is conditioning his runners to get them prepared and to prevent injury as well.

“During the week of conference, we kind of scale back on the volume and the mileage we do per week,” he said. “We increase the intensity of the workout, increase the recovery time, doing more fast-paced stuff and easier running. Nothing too intense.”

Francesca Vaccaro, biochemistry sophomore, said preparing her mental state going into a big meet helps her perform.

“I personally love being nervous, because that immediately transfers to adrenaline on the field or at the starting line,” she said. “Once that gun goes off, it doesn’t matter if you’re nervous. You’re going to have to run.

Vaccaro also shared her main preparation concerns for the meet.

“Just making sure I stay focused in terms of making sure I keep on drinking water, eating right, doing all those things we’re supposed to be doing the whole season, but with extra special focus,” Vaccaro said.

Alexander Morano, performance and math freshman, said that sleep is his main concern for preparing for the meet.

“I’m trying to focus on sleep. Honestly, I’m just like focusing on getting to bed at a decent hour every night so I can be rested,” Morano said “You can’t catch up on a week’s worth of sleep in one night.”

The Loyola cross-country team will be traveling to Clinton, Miss., to compete in the conference championship tomorrow.

They will be competing against teams from across the south such as William Carey, Belhaven and Spring Hill.

Jacob Stringer can be contacted at [email protected]