The men’s and women’s cross country and track programs are the most competitive sports teams on campus. If you disagree with that statement, the results speak for themselves. Last year alone the teams had 19 All-Americans. Individually, Mathew Keitany placed second in the mile, sixth in the 3000-meter steeplechase, in the nation. Mercy Chebet placed third in the indoor 5000 and fifth in the outdoor 5000, in the nation. Annika Alderfer Fisher placed eighth in the mile and eighth in the 1500, in the nation.
Team wise, the men’s distance medley relay placed 6th in the nation. The women’s 4×800 relay placed sixth in the nation and the men’s placed sixth as well. Additionally, the cross country teams both went to nationals, the men placed 16th, in the nation and for the first time in program history the women’s team went to nationals and placed 15th.Naming these accomplishments is important to me as I want people to understand the level of competition the athletes on these teams are at and recognize the hard work that is done to stay at this level. These achievements are not normal and we need to normalize that.
Recognition is a huge way to acknowledge the athletes for their hard work. Support from within the team can be helped with motivation but external support goes a long way. The LEAFYs do not do this justice. There were multiple All-Americans and national qualifiers that were not recognized. Even when returning from competing at nationals we get off the bus and walk to our rooms wondering if anyone even knows what we just did. Acts of recognition do not need to be huge parties, but a simple acknowledgement to the school about the achievements of our athletes could suffice.
A story I want to share that questions my athletic loyalty to Goshen College dates back to May, when the track and field team went to outdoor nationals. As 12 of our athletes were getting ready to depart there was no send-off other than teammates. We left the Rec-Fit Center and got on a Bethany Christian bus. If you are not sure what Bethany Christian is, it is a local K-12 school about a mile south of GC. We were unable to reserve a Goshen College vehicle to represent our school at a national event.
With the Connected Cause: A Campaign for Goshen College being revealed during homecoming week I was excited to see a subcategory named “expanding athletics,” with a 3.1 million dollar goal. But I was gravely disappointed to see in the description where it states that the 3.1 million will be spent on walkways and an outdoor support facility with locker rooms and concessions at the John Ingold Athletic Conplex as well as enhanced lighting, bleachers and press boxes for the soccer, baseball and softball fields. In addition, the Rec-Fitness center would receive a “branding facelift” in the lobby and new bleachers in the gym.
There has been time for the college to invest in the track and cross country teams. Over the last nine years, we have had 42 All-Americans and 150 national qualifiers between track and cross country. The men’s cross team has been ranked in the top 25 for the last five years and the women have been ranked or receiving votes for the last four. Last year both programs as a whole were ranked against all the other programs in the country with the men and women both placing 14th. The significant improvement over nine years warrants a reward, right?
In over 10 years, there have been no improvements to track facilities despite their degrading conditions. For example, the weight throw cage that protects against potential wild throws is literally falling apart, our steeplechase pit can not hold water and our track that has not been resurfaced in over 15 years (which should be resurfaced every 10 years). Over those years the track team has still found ways to perform well and improve at national competitions. But I pose a question. Why isn’t the track and cross country team getting more support?
Is the philosophy, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it? If so, how are we supposed to improve for ourselves? The program so far has thrived on its rich culture of hard working people that want to get better athletically, academically and personally. A community that draws people in from across the country and the world. Not because of the resources that will be offered to them. In my personal recruitment to Goshen, I fell in love with the campus and the people I met at practice. When I saw the facilities I wondered how the team was able to succeed. I understand now.
I currently run for a team that people know is good but don’t ever get to see compete. The last home meet was in 2015. Since then facilities haven’t changed. But we have, so why does it feel so unnoticed?
