By Katie Lafferrandre
Staff Writer
On Friday, September 27, the Sewanee Cross Country team traveled to Memphis, Tennessee for a meet at Rhodes College the following day. The temperature on the bus was freezing, and the mood was melancholy: Mark McAlister (C’16) forgot, as many suspected he woud, to “Remember” the Titans. The movie selection is an important decision that facilitates team bonding. Ansley McDurmon (C’16) said of the slip-up, “the team had to resist the urge to
quarantine [Mark] in the tiny bathroom…it had already been heavily used by that time, by whom I won’t say.” Fortunately, Gabby Marion (C’16) had a back-up plan. The team was able to watch Dirty Dancing, but, being from the $5 bin at Wal-Mart, the film moved a bit slower than usual. Katie Lafferrandre (C’14) said, “The DVD had a few skips, and moved slower in some parts, making the dirty parts even dirtier.” Marion chimed in, “Yeah, I was embarrassed by the ultra-slow front grinding.”
The next day the team rose early to race. Both the men and women took ninth place and wee fairly happy with the results. Though both the men and women failed to beat Sewanee’s rival, Rhodes, morale remains high. Coach Heitzenrater’s training is designed to have both teams peak by the end of the season, so while Rhodes may be laughing now, Sewanee will be laughing at Regionals. The teams focused on the positives after a hard race. Bradford Lepik (C’16), the angel of the Cross Country team, said of his race: “hair game was on point I can tell you that much,” and McDurmon (C’16) agreed that, “Bradford’s hair rising and falling with the wind is always a high point of any race.” Taylor Jetmundson (C’16), aka “Teej,” said “Bradford’s hair looked strong. Too strong.” Lafferrandre (C’15) confessed, “my hair could have looked better…I find both Alec and Bradford’s hair so intimidating that I never try anything fancy.”
The men and women runners look forward to Regionals in Rome, Georgia on November 1.