Men's Cross Country
There's no better way to build endurance and stamina.
What's New
October 25, 2008 - The men came into this season not knowing what to expect. Everyone on the men's team is a freshman, and none of them had run competitively at the 8k distance. Yet being new to the distance didn't deter them from having a great season. Up to this point, I have seen PR after PR from this team every race. Even knowing that, as a team, they weren't going to be contenders for conference, they worked hard to do the best that they could do. So it wasn't out of the ordinary to expect some great PR's from the team at the regional meet this Saturday. More»
Season Outlook
Steve Prefontaine, one of the world's best distance runners ever, once said, "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." This quote pretty much sums up the ECC men's team as a whole. It's only been about three solid weeks of practice, but they're giving it 110% already. I don't need to worry about this team to get the job done.
Whoever said that you need experience to be the best or even great at something? I sure didn't. My men's team is all first-timers at running the 8k, which is the distance the men run at the meets. I don't think that will matter with this group of great guys. Their work ethic thus far has been a coach's dream. Leading the pack, we have a St. Charles East cross country and track graduate Connor Hughes. Connor ran all through high school and is ready to show the NJCAA what he's made of. Two guys on the team, whom everyone should look at and admire, are Oscar Velarde and Mike Yarbrough. Out of all the men on the team, these two leave nothing out there. When we practice you can tell they're giving it there all. I am already very proud of these two no matter how the season turns out. Monkey, aka Adam Oberlin, is another one of those mixed martial arts/runners. I give him credit for being able to do his mixed martial arts everyday and then coming to practice and working like a horse. I think it is safe to say that we will be seeing great things from him. Last, but not least, we have a baseball player making the transition to running. Being that we only had four guys at the beginning of the season, Rob Quick is helping us form a full team of five runners. Without him we wouldn't be competing as a team, but as four individuals. My hat is off to you Rob, thank you.
Having a team that is willing to work has hard as these guys do is a dream for me. I will do everything in my power to have this team do the best that it can, and get as far they are willing to push for it. People will be surprised in the end!
Coach Matt Hoppensteadt
Join the Team
Interested in joining a great team! Just fill out the form to qualify. Join today»