Bennie cross country wins first meet of the season

After their first meet, the CSB cross country team is off to a hot start, placing first out of seven teams. Now, after having their first home meet at a new home course, River Oaks Golf Course in Cold Spring, MN, the team looks to continue their success. Senior Mary Kenney, who recently took second place individually in the meet, hopes that the team can continue to use the advantages of running on their home course in the future.

“We don’t have to travel, which is nice. The biggest thing was having so many fans there which made the race environment so fun and for me makes it feel way more competitive. Also, having a number of alums come out, plenty of current bennies and johnnies, and parents, which makes it more fun to race,” Kenney said.

Along with the advantages of having a home meet, Kenney said she believes that the team’s pre-meet rituals beforehand are key.

“A tradition we have as captains is that we give out ribbons for every meet and we have a meaning for each ribbon. Whether it is silly or serious, it helps unify us. After that, we do our warmup together, we walk some of the course and run it,” Kenney said.

The team aspect of this group has been something that has not been taken for granted by many individuals. Junior Julia Babineau said that
the family aspect of the team was something she never knew she needed.

“The girls are awesome. I love them. It is a family that I didn’t know I needed, and I cherish that every day on campus,” Babineau said.

Babineau says that her passion for running is beyond the exercise and competition.

“For me, [running] helps me do better in school. [It’s nice] having that support on campus when things are hard,” Babineau said.

Babineau believes that the team’s preparation leading up to meets and practices is what will give them the best chance at each meet.

“Showing up every day and at practice. We run all summer long; really all year along. By showing up to practices, it allows us to put our best foot forward. We do a lot of training and bring in speakers at the beginning of the season to work on our confidence and mentality going into races,” Babineau said.

Head coach Robin Balder-Lanoue, in her 29th year, adds her thoughts as well from a coaching standpoint on why the team this year is already successful.

“They had a great summer of training and it’s really showing. It definitely showed in the race. So many people had lifetime bests in the first race of the year, and we had many of our athletes run a faster pace per mile in their 5k than they did in their two-mile time trial two weeks ago. It’s a team that really celebrates race day,” Balder-Lanoue said.

Team building is a crucial part of the team’s performance and time while on the team.

“We just plan a lot of intentional things that bring the team together. Sometimes they are bigger things than others, but I think when you’re sharing your goals…the team’s goals are everyone’s goals,” Balder-Lanoue said. “Your teammates are also invested in your goals, it helps you to really enjoy going after them when you know everyone is supporting what you want to do.”

The team’s next meet is this Saturday, Sept. 20, at St. Olaf. Balder-Lanoue emphasized the competitiveness of the next meet.

“It’s going to be a very competitive meet for us. We will see more of the conference and the region. There are usually some D2 teams there along with a lot of strong D3 teams,” Balder-Lanoue said.