UCLA cross country finishes 7th at Pac-12 championships

Sickness and altitude may have been contributing factors to UCLA cross country’s average performances at the Pac-12 championships this weekend.

Both the men and women’s team placed seventh at the event, held in Louisville, Colo.

The unranked men’s team, which averaged 26:03, fell to No. 1 Colorado team, which led the division with an average time of 24:56. UCLA coach Forest Braden said that the Bruins could improve on this in time for regionals.

Braden said the men have been plagued with sickness and injuries this season. The team is just starting to recover and remain healthy, a factor he thinks will improve their performance at NCAA regionals in less than two weeks.

One athlete who has been struggling with sickness this season is sophomore Nick Hartle.

Hartle suffered from a sore throat during the week and had a fever immediately following the Pac-12 race; however, this didn’t stop him from pacing the men and coming in 14th overall.

“His toughness is hard to replicate. That’s his biggest strength. No matter what’s going on, he gives it everything he has,” said Braden about Hartle.“Under ideal circumstances he is capable of winning meets like today.”

Hartle’s ability to push past sickness and pain has inevitably made him one of the leaders on the team, a role the sophomore said he enjoys.

“I wouldn’t be able to do it without the unbelievable support of the team. There is so much fire on this team. We are unbelievably close and I think we are going to start showing that in our next couple races,” Hartle said.

Freshman Ferdinand Edman has been sick on and off since arriving at the beginning of the school year from his home country of Norway.

Braden said Edman is finally beginning to feel better, indicated by his improved performance at the Pac-12s. Edman placed 36th overall.

“We got a glimpse of what he is capable of when he is healthy. He showed that he is going to be one of the top guys at regionals,” Braden said.

Despite the women running “really tough,” Braden said some of them were hit hard by the altitude change.

“The race course was over 6000 feet and that’s really tough to do from training at sea level. We all felt it,” said redshirt junior Kelsey Smith.

Smith’s performance, however, seemed unaffected by the change, as she earned seventh place overall and paced the women’s team. Next to follow her was junior Annie Mooney, who finished 18th.

Next up for the Bruins is the NCAA regional championships, which will take place Nov. 15 in Sacramento, Calif.

“I think that we are going to surprise a lot of people. We are ready to race our best,” Smith said.