Tiger cross country team excited to host a pair of meets

With an exciting mix of returning athletes and talented freshmen, the Cowley College men's cross country team is eager to show fans of the program the work they have put in over the summer as the team will host a pair of meets in the 2024 season.

The Tigers placed seventh at last season's national tournament after capturing its fourth straight region title and third conference title in the past four years.

Miquel Cruz highlights the list of returning athletes. As a freshman, Cruz was an All-Region runner and was the runner-up in the conference. Other returning runners are Randy Rojas Mendez, DeShawn Douglass, Manuel Leos, and Kevin Rivas Guillen.

Along with the five sophomores, there are six freshmen on the roster who are talented but unproven at the collegiate level.

"I think we will be on par or a little better than last year; we just aren't as deep," Rieth said. "Our success will largely depend on how much they trained this summer. It is so difficult as a freshman to go up to the 8K from the 5K. I think we have some athletes that can do things, but it is up to them with what they want out of this season."

Cowley will host the Tiger Preview on October 12 in advance of hosting the Region VI/Jayhawk Conference Championships on October 25.

"We are excited about hosting regionals," Rieth said. "We have wanted to host regionals since I first came to Cowley in 2019."

Last year's team consisted of 15 athletes, while the Tigers only have 11 runners this year.

"We won't be deep, but all it takes is five runners," Rieth said. "The guys will need to train right and not get hurt. We need to put in the work, and if we do that, we will have a chance to get the best out of each individual on the team."