Coro: XC primed for next step

The Grand Canyon cross country men's and women's teams are expecting better results than ever this season but are racing toward that finish line from different angles.

While the teams become extremely close by spending preseason camp, training, rehabilitation and cross-training together, the GCU women are expecting to thrive off the experience of three seniors and a junior leading the pack this season while the men will be pushed by an increase in depth that is highlighted by freshman Rylan Stubbs.

Each team finished sixth last season at WAC Championships and are vying to improve that this season, which starts Saturday when both teams race at Arizona's Cactus Open in Tucson.

"We're going to train through a lot of races and not back down so that it does come together when we need it this year," GCU senior Paige Hildebrandt said. "We're going to put it all out there. Everyone is really motivated to keep that motivation, even when it seems to drag on toward the end of the season. I think this year is going to be a lot better."

Hildebrandt holds multiple school records from the track and field season and has fellow seniors Elizabeth Balsan, an All-WAC second-team pick last season, and Erika Wallace with her.

"They're a lot stronger," Lopes fifth-year head coach Sara Slattery said of her seniors. "They've had four years of training and know what to expect. Coming off of cross last season, we didn't meet our expectations and now they really want to hit those goals that we had set. We have a bitter taste from last fall. That was the sentiment when we were talking at camp (this month in Flagstaff). We really want to come back and podium (top-three finish) as a team and win some meets that we haven't won in the past and have our best season yet as a women's team."

Slattery assembled a schedule with the expectation that her team can compete at the front of all races this season.

"We're going into the races knowing what to expect," Hildebrandt said. "We just want to do well for each other and make it a really good end to our college experience."

The leadership of three closely bonded seniors and junior McKayla Cordova will help the women's team stick to executing race plans and build confidence.

"Mikayla has made a big jump this summer during her training and has been right up there with those girls in workouts," Slattery said.

On the men's side, it might be more difficult for Slattery to ascertain her leaders from week to week. That is a good thing because the team's depth is stronger to push each other through training.

Stubbs graduated from Campo Verde High School in nearby Gilbert this year and chose GCU over Oklahoma, Iowa State and Northern Arizona. His ability is proving to overcome the frequent freshman adjustment to a longer collegiate race distance.

"Rylan already has come in and established himself right at the front with our guys," Slattery said. "He has the potential to be really good and he will help us move our pack forward."

The Lopes also have redshirt freshman Jacob Lewis, who is running and recovering strongly after redshirting last season for illness. He joins senior Matthew Anciaux and sophomores Blake Bennett, Chris D'Angelo and Christian Fagerlin, who spent summer training at high altitude in Colorado.

"It is harder with the guys to predict who is going to be where," Slattery said. "We're freshmen- and sophomore-heavy (12 of the team's 19) but we have a lot more depth and a tighter pack so that makes it nice. If we're missing a guy, another guy can step in. It's hard to predict who's going to be the best guy on that day."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Matthew Anciaux

Elizabeth Balsan

Blake Bennett

McKayla Cordova

Chris D'Angelo

Christian Fagerlin

Paige Hildebrandt

Jacob Lewis

Rylan Stubbs

Erika Wallace

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