FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The 2014 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) may be in the middle of the championship part of the Fairfield University cross country schedule, but it is probably the one that the men's and women's squad point to and prepare for from the start of preseason. The two teams will enter today's races, hosted by Monmouth University, ready to compete at their highest level.
"Everyone is locked in and excited to race," Head Coach Brendan Rickert said. "We have tried doing all the little things right. It's going to be a close race on both sides, but we want to compete so we're not afraid to lay it out on the line."
The Stags not only have done what they could to prepare physically, but Coach Rickert also gave them the opportunity to prepare themselves mentally by providing the opportunity to race on the course earlier in the year. Fairfield participated in the Monmouth Invitational on September 20.
"The great advantage we have is that we've seen the course twice whereas most teams have only seen it once," Rickert said. "It's a very challenging course but the structure of the training was meant to mimic the demands needed to run that course well. I think with the extra rest the past 10 days everyone will be ready to focus on racing and not about the difficulty of the course."
While apprehensive to single out any particular athletes, Rickert knows that there are always individuals who step up in races like the MAAC championship.
"I never like to specify one or two runners because at the end of the day 5 score and 7 displace and we have two tight packs where we don't know who's going to be in the top 7 on any given day," Rickert said. “That being said look for Sam Daly and Dan DeBlock to lead the charge up front. Nolan Parsley and Mike Flanagan are also our consistent top 5 runners and they're looking to move up in the pecking order.
"The women's side has a nice mix of experienced and new runners. Charlotte Molloy has been our number one at most of the meets but last week Jackie Willsey and Stephanie Vickers had big break out races. Maureen Crimmins, Dani Renzi and Cate Forte have been consistent all season as well and I know running their fourth MAAC championship will be a huge benefit for the team."
The men race begins at 11 am while the women's start time is listed for noon.
