Coach Andy Canegitta can no longer fit his whole cross country team into his truck.

With a roster of 57, Canegitta has expanded the team from the just under 10 runners he started with in 2008.

“My first year, I could fit all the kids into the back of my truck.” Canegitta said. “Now it’s different. There is more talent and more competition that helps my runners become more competitive. As the ‘Pack grows, so does the talent of the individual runners.”

Canegitta came to Loyola after spending time as an assistant coach at Warner Southern College and Webber International University. It was at Webber International that Canegitta assisted in the recruitment of nearly 40 new athletes in an inaugural season.

In an effort to organize practices for such a large team, Canegitta said that men and women runners are broken down into different training groups.

“Splitting the runners up into groups helps improve race performance,” Canegitta said. “That’s our focus this year – racing.”

Canegitta said he was worried about losing the ability to focus on his runners’ individual needs with such a significant roster increase, but said the runners help with encouragement.

“They encourage one another without me telling them to encourage one another,” Canegitta said.

Lauren Fereday, biology senior, said that having a bigger roster could increase the likelihood of a successful season.

“Coming from barely having enough players to compete and now having a lot more than necessary is what’s going to win us a title,” Fereday said.

For some runners, like history freshman Paul Freese, it was Cannegita who played an important role in Freese’s decision to come to Loyola.

“Andy was a big part of why I came here,” Freese said.

The team’s first home appearance will be Saturday, Sept. 10 at the Loyola Wolfpack Invitational at Metairie’s Lafreniere Park from 8 a.m. until noon.

Chelsey Richter can be reached at [email protected]