Cabrini’s cross country team will not be competing in any races this fall season. Despite this fact, the team remains in high spirits and hopeful for the future.
Over the summer, while the United States continued to be inundated with COVID- 19 cases, Cabrini, along with the Atlantic East Conference, decided to postpone all fall sports competitions and championships. As a result, many teams continue to practice, hoping to get the opportunity to compete sometime in the near future.
The team performed admirably last season prior to the impending COVID- 19 pandemic, with the women’s cross country team placing fifth at the Atlantic East Conference championship and one of its members walking away with second-team all-conference honors.
Coming into the 2020 season, the cross country team announced a new head coach would be taking the reigns and preparing the team.
David Ringwood, Cabrini’s newly acquired head coach of the cross country team, plans on turning this team that he described as “young and full of potential” into AEC champions.
“As the head coach, I try to be as excited, positive and as opportunistic as possible,” Ringwood said. Ringwood is hoping to lead a growing Cabrini’s cross country program and turn the program into conference champions in the near future.
“He is really dedicated to making us better,” Anthony Pietrewicz, sophomore digital communications and social media major, said about his new head coach. “We’re not training for this year, we’re training for first place next year.”
Without the competition provided during a normal cross-country meet, the team has found alternative ways to keep their competitive fire stoked.
Over the summer quarantine, the team would stay in shape by using “workout packets” sent to them by Ringwood. These workout packets consisted of different exercises that the team did individually as a way to stay in shape. However, according to members of the team, these workouts also served as motivation during the pandemic.
Ringwood said that running gave him a “sense of purpose” and “allowed him to find a sense of normalcy in a time where there is so much uncertainty,” and wanted his runners over quarantine to use running as an escape.
“The university and our cross country team have really done their best to make this experience as fun as possible,” Sam Frederick, freshman health science major, said. Frederick is a freshman runner for the women’s cross country team. Frederick said she didn’t have high expectations entering the semester but has been pleased with the university’s efforts thus far.
Keeping players safe has been the main priority of Cabrini University in regard to its fall athletics. So far, the head coach and the team seems to be responding well to the newfound restrictions safety measures imposed by the administration to protect against the COVID- 19 virus.
“They’re taking it seriously, as they should,” Ringwood said. Ringwood believes that the institution is setting a good example of continuing to live life as normal as possible while still remaining responsible.
Frederick echoed Ringwood, saying that she thinks the university is doing a good job of not only keeping its teams safe but also its students.
While the future remains uncertain, the cross country team has big expectations for the future. Ringwood and the runners are using the lack of a fall championship to prepare for next year.
“Once we return to competition, we are going to be a force to be reckoned with,” Ringwood said.
