The 2013 Atlantic Sun Conference XC Championships
Story and Photos by Ralph Epifanio
Even though several teams limped into the meet with injuries to key athletes, the incredible weather couldn’t help but add some spring to their step. Fortunately sidestepping the predicted end-of-the-world weather scenario two days prior, and the first chill of Autumn the morning after the meet, this was perfect weather for cross country: cool, but not so much so that it required layering; clear blue skies, warmed by a radiant sun; and fall foliage that inspired spontaneous smiles at the merest of suggestions. Good thing there, because while everyone felt like a winner before the race, in reality, that honor became a virtual monopoly by the host school, Lipscomb.
Men’s 8K
In what developed into a race of attrition, two names survived a talented, tightly packed field: JJ Webber and Juan Gonzalez. Webber (UNK) and Gonzalez (Lipscomb) seem polar opposites: Webber is tall and wiry, Gonzalez more compact; Webber is a junior, Gonzalez a freshman; the former has blossomed under UNK’s Steve Kruse; the latter came in a state cross country champion (15:05 at the 11/24/12 CIF California Cross Country Championships); and, although having met before on this same course--Webber won this year’s Commodore Classic in 24:42.71, and Gonzalez was 14th in 25:31.31—they had yet to “meet.” This time out of the box it was much, much closer.
“Coach Kruse said before the race that it would go out slow,” JJ said afterwards, “but I didn’t think it would be that slow. So I just waited. I have done that all year. In the last phase of the race, I picked it up, (so) in the last mile, there were five (of us), then four, then three.”
Kruse: “It was three coming into the home stretch, and then just you and the Lipscomb guy.”
Gonzalez put on enough of a kick to pull within a few tenths of a second of Webber, but ran out of course.
Kruse: “JJ always makes it more exciting than it needs to be. He loves to run with people, loves head to head competition. He could care less about time.”
Gonzalez, though in his first A-Sun for conference powerhouse Lipscomb, ran the race with a resolve well beyond his actual collegiate experience.
JJ: “He’s a freshman.”
Kruse: “You can ‘play’ with him again next year.”
JJ: “We (the team) ran a lot of races with, like, 300 runners in it, and there would be, maybe, 30 elite runners in them.
“We also raced here earlier this year—The Commodore Classic—and that taught us the nuances of the course.”
This past season, while Webber’s Norsemen had that one aforementioned venture into Percy Warner, Gonzalez’s Bisons train here weekly.
“We’ve trained here ever since we got to school,” Juan explained. “We’ve learned the ups and downs; where to go harder, and where to ease up. That was definitely an advantage.”
12 places, in case anyone’s counting.
“I thought we kept the same pace, (however) we were going faster and faster, but very gradually. Coming down the sideways hill, once I hit the top, I decided to open it up. That was when I went from second on the team, to first. So then it was JJ from UNK, Argeo from FGCU, and me.
“I decided to take it (the lead) on the last turn, with 300 to go. I had three meters on him (JJ). Probably 50 meters after that, I slipped. I regained my lead, but started thinking about whether or not I was hurt.”
That momentary distraction gave Webber an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up.
Juan again: “Probably with about 150 to go, I decided to kick, but he was in front of me and held the same distance between us. With 25 meters to go, I decided to pass him (again), but it was too late.”
JJ was timed in 25:05.06, and Juan in 25:05.70. As neither are seniors, it was a duel that no doubt will be played again. Unfortunately, for UNK, it won’t be this season. NKU joined a new DI conference in 2012-13, so they cannot compete in an NCAA DI Regional, which in their case would be the Midwest.
Kruse: “It’s very disappointing that we are in this probationary period.”
“Before JJ, NKU had never had a conference champion for cross country. So just starting out with that, made this race exciting. We’ve raced a hard schedule, and raced against teams we’d be running against in the regional. We’d be right with them. It’s a credit to the team not to let that affect them.”
JJ: “So this meet was like our nationals.”
Team Race - While JJ Webber’s kick was enough to hold off a speedy Gonzalez, it couldn’t stop the Lipscomb stampede. The Bison herd placed 2-3-5-7-9-12-13 for 26 points, the second lowest men’s total in conference championship history.
“The men ran like we designed it,” said Lipscomb coach, Bill Taylor. “They were awesome. (We hope) they can carry that momentum into the (South) Regional.
“This is a big step in our program, and we did it in front of a home crowd. We expected a huge crowd, and it really helped.”
Taylor was named A-Sun Coach of the Year, on both the men’s and women’s side. Kruse’s UNK was second with 82 (1-14-16-25-26-36-40), nipping East Tennessee State by a one point margin. ETSU finished 8-17-18-19-21-24-28 for 83 points. Ten teams and 79 runners competed.
Women’s 5K
Perhaps because their distance is nearly two miles shorter, the women’s field was even more compressed into itself than the men’s. It seemed unlikely, then, that there would such a margin of victory. 
However, FGCU’s Kelly Perzanowski had a mind to make it so.
“I go into every race knowing that I am going to do my best, and not overanalyze the race,” Kelly said later. “It was a really slow race. We went out in about 5:30 for the first mile. We (the leaders) usually do about 5:20; anything faster than that is too fast.
“We were together until the second hill, at about 3K. So at about 4K, I took the lead. I like to push the hills, so it made sense to take the lead there.
“(When leading a race) you always have that ‘run for your life’ feeling, and hope nobody catches you.”
Certainly willing to do that in case she faltered was the eventual second place finisher, Svenja Meyer, from Jacksonville.
“I felt great today,” explained Meyers. “The sun was shining, and it was not too cold. Warm-ups felt good. I was comfortable. The conditions were really great. I never felt better for a race.”
Svenja, who came to JU from Germany, certainly demonstrated that confidence, occupying the big gap between Perzanowsi (17:21.02) and eventual third place finisher ETSU’s Katie Hirko (17:41).
“I was just planning on going out with the lead pack,” Svenja continued, “and ‘let it roll,’ see how it goes.
“It (the pace) was a little slower than at FSU”—October 11th, where Svenja finished sixth in 17:33.65—we went out a little slower here. But it was a really comfortable pace.
“There were the three of us: me, Kelly, and Katie Hirko. Going up the hill, I think that was right before the 5K mark, Kelly made her move and was not letting go. She was really strong, and pushed it all the way. I thought she might let up, but she didn’t…not at all, not even a little bit.
“I still thought maybe I could get back to her, but at the 4K she was gone. So I held onto second.”
Meyer finished there in 17:37.19. Up ahead, Perzanowski crossed 16 seconds sooner.
“I was hoping for a low 17,” Kelly explained. “Coming off my fastest 6K at UF (20:45.06 on September 14th—an FGCU school record--and placed her first in a huge win), I’m thrilled. But I could have run 20 minutes, and been happy. It’s all about placing low in the team scores.”
That “low 17” translated to yet another school record for Kelly, this one for the 5K. It certainly earned her the A-Sun Female Athlete of the Year honor, and gave FGCU their first overall title since entering the conference.
Her coach, Cassandra Goodson, has these kind words to say about her star athlete:
“This championship serves as a culmination of Kelly's hard work and determination. The win couldn't have happened to a better person. She is our captain, our leader.
“She shows our team that they can reach greatness by believing in the team concept, and making good decisions at home, in school and in the community. It is really satisfying as a coach to see such a positive end result of a runner’s perseverance, of being a good teammate and continuing to work hard through adversity.”
Team Race – That low score mindset was what Lipscomb held on to, and they accomplished just that. With 32 points, they had the best team score by a 52 point margin. Individually, their first runner finished fourth, and as a team, placed all five of their scorers in the top ten (4-5-6-7-10-11-17).
“The women didn’t run real well,” said head coach, Bill Taylor. “They didn’t follow the plan we had. The men did. The women were tense. We had several girls who were sick this week, and we had some injuries.
(For the Regional) our women have to focus. They will be better in two weeks. Regionals are a different meet.”
East Tennessee State was second with 84 (3-9-21-22-29-31), and UNF was third with 92 (8-14-19-25-26-27-36). Ten teams and 82 runners competed.
Footnotes – With both Mercer and ETSU dropping out of the A-Sun after this season, it looks as if Stetson might be hosting the 2014 Atlantic Sun Conference XC Championships.
Mercer is an original (charter) member of the A-Sun, going back to 1978, when it was called the Trans America Athletic Conference. ETSU joined in 2005. Both move to the Southern Conference, beginning in the fall.
Unless other schools join them, the Atlantic Sun Conference will continue to operate with an NCAA minimum eight members.
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