TEMPE, Ariz. -- After getting a preview of the Pac-12 Championship course in Tucson two weeks ago, the Sun Devil cross country team will earn another sneak peek at a postseason course as they compete at the Capital Cross Challenge in Sacramento, Calif. The Haggin Oaks Golf Course will also play host to the NCAA West Regional Championship in October.
The second-annual event features 21 schools and will be the biggest event the men and women will have competed in to date, while also being the first of few road trips this season.
"It's a little bit of a bigger meet numbers wise, so we're not just running against 40 or 50 runners," said head coach Louie Quintana. "It's a good bridge for the men and the women to run in the bigger field before we go to pre-nationals. There are about 12 really good teams at pre-nationals."
Quintana expects this field to be closer to over 100 runners, and calls the meet a great stepping stone and measuring stick for his young squad.
"Composure is huge, it's a great word for these events coming up," said coach. "It's about respecting the competition but not being intimidated by who you're competing against. Keeping their composure is absolutely critical as these races get bigger with better competition. Part of going to this meet, I knew emotionally we'd be fine. Going to this meet now, I think they'll be better prepared and experience running closer to a full 6K (women) and 8K (men)."
The men will start their 8K trek at 9:35 a.m. while the women will follow with a 5K race at 10:15 a.m. Adjusting to the cooler weather -- a projected 52-57 degrees between 9-10 a.m. -- will be one factor for the Sun Devils, but Quintana says running the exact track they'll see in just over a month provides one advantage of very few possible in the sport.
"To have the familiarity of being on a regional course is huge, especially when there aren't a lot of advantages you can get in cross country," he said. "One of the things it will do for us is having some familiarity with the course, which is one less thing to worry about come October."
Redshirt senior CJ Albertson has executed perfectly in both of his first events this season, finishing first in both. Quintana doesn't take anything away from what CJ has accomplished in both the short and long term, but knows the true test to see where he stands nationally is approaching.
"Chico State -- who is ranked as the No. 4 Division II team in the country -- has some really good runners on their team. They have one, if not two, guys who can run with (CJ)," said Quintana. "This is the big one for him and tester for where he's at. The next race at Terra Haute will really see where he's at on a national scale. As he's moving forward, he's raced well and raced within himself. He hasn't had to go to 'the well' in any of his races just yet. We need him to continue to run with confidence."
The 'well' as Quintana referred, is that point of no return place where he says you fully embrace the pain that comes with running long distances. Quintana says the best runners in the country get to that point, and relish in the pain whether it's for the last lap or the last 100 meters to finish on top.
CJ's wife, Chelsey Albertson, has also gotten off to a hot start in 2016 with back-to-back second place finishes. Quintana looks for her and senior Jenna Maack, who is making her first appearance this season, to lead the young group of women and stick to the race plan.
Results will be handled by Record Timing. A live link can be found at http://www.rtspt.com/events/SacSt/cxc16/.
The second-annual event features 21 schools and will be the biggest event the men and women will have competed in to date, while also being the first of few road trips this season.
"It's a little bit of a bigger meet numbers wise, so we're not just running against 40 or 50 runners," said head coach Louie Quintana. "It's a good bridge for the men and the women to run in the bigger field before we go to pre-nationals. There are about 12 really good teams at pre-nationals."
Quintana expects this field to be closer to over 100 runners, and calls the meet a great stepping stone and measuring stick for his young squad.
"Composure is huge, it's a great word for these events coming up," said coach. "It's about respecting the competition but not being intimidated by who you're competing against. Keeping their composure is absolutely critical as these races get bigger with better competition. Part of going to this meet, I knew emotionally we'd be fine. Going to this meet now, I think they'll be better prepared and experience running closer to a full 6K (women) and 8K (men)."
The men will start their 8K trek at 9:35 a.m. while the women will follow with a 5K race at 10:15 a.m. Adjusting to the cooler weather -- a projected 52-57 degrees between 9-10 a.m. -- will be one factor for the Sun Devils, but Quintana says running the exact track they'll see in just over a month provides one advantage of very few possible in the sport.
"To have the familiarity of being on a regional course is huge, especially when there aren't a lot of advantages you can get in cross country," he said. "One of the things it will do for us is having some familiarity with the course, which is one less thing to worry about come October."
Redshirt senior CJ Albertson has executed perfectly in both of his first events this season, finishing first in both. Quintana doesn't take anything away from what CJ has accomplished in both the short and long term, but knows the true test to see where he stands nationally is approaching.
"Chico State -- who is ranked as the No. 4 Division II team in the country -- has some really good runners on their team. They have one, if not two, guys who can run with (CJ)," said Quintana. "This is the big one for him and tester for where he's at. The next race at Terra Haute will really see where he's at on a national scale. As he's moving forward, he's raced well and raced within himself. He hasn't had to go to 'the well' in any of his races just yet. We need him to continue to run with confidence."
The 'well' as Quintana referred, is that point of no return place where he says you fully embrace the pain that comes with running long distances. Quintana says the best runners in the country get to that point, and relish in the pain whether it's for the last lap or the last 100 meters to finish on top.
CJ's wife, Chelsey Albertson, has also gotten off to a hot start in 2016 with back-to-back second place finishes. Quintana looks for her and senior Jenna Maack, who is making her first appearance this season, to lead the young group of women and stick to the race plan.
Results will be handled by Record Timing. A live link can be found at http://www.rtspt.com/events/SacSt/cxc16/.