PEORIA, ILL. (Oct. 18, 2024)- After having about three weeks off, the NCC women’s cross country team traveled to Peoria, Illinois, for the Pink Classic hosted by Bradley University. In the run, the Cardinals placed sixth of 15 teams.
NCC scored 181 points in their sixth-place finish. Julia Benes, ’25, led the way for NCC, with a time of 22 minutes and 41.11 seconds, which was 21st overall out of 166 competitors. Lily Anderson, ’27, had her best finish of the season with a time of 23 minutes and 23.47 seconds. Anderson placed 44th overall. Segilola Smith-Pariola, ’27, running in her third meet this season, placed 55th overall with a time of 23 minutes and 43.8 seconds.
Benes strong performance
Benes had her best performance of the season.
“I think this weekend helped me feel better about my spot in the conference and also gave me a little confidence boost as I ran faster at this meet this year than I did last year,” said Benes.
Furthermore, confidence is also something that Benes has made sure to stress a lot. She knows that it will play a key role in ensuring that she is performing her best in some of the important races coming up.
“Consistency can build your confidence in yourself to perform well and help you feel really prepared to be able to do well in these important meets we have coming up,” said Benes.
Having a high level of confidence is something that is very important for all athletes that want to reach their potential. Thus, according to an article from Athleticinsight.com, they talk about how Confidence directly impacts athletic performance. High confidence levels enhance focus, allowing athletes to concentrate on their tasks without distractions.
Strong team leadership
Just like on any team, the leadership is extremely important. For the NCC women’s cross country team, their goal is to make sure their team culture and leadership is a good fit for everyone.
“There are only three seniors this year, me included, so it is definitely important for us to help create a supportive environment where we can build each other up. I think as seniors we have done a good job of making sure that each member of our team feels supported and welcomed, and I think as a whole team we have all stepped up in different ways to do this,” said Benes
Preparing for the CCIW
In addition, with the conference race coming up Benes feels very confident in the team. She believes that their training has put the team in a good spot for the upcoming race.
“I’m feeling good going into conference as a team. I know there’s definitely some things that we need to work on throughout the season to get us in a good place for conference, but I think our practices have been really telling that we’re in a good spot,” said Benes.
What’s next?
As mentioned, the next time the NCC women’s cross country team will run is for the CCIW Championship on Nov. 2 at St. James Farm in Warrenville, Illinois, as they are seeking their first CCIW Championship since 2015. The start time of the race is 12 p.m.
