Both the men and women’s cross country team placed the highest they ever have at the NCAA II West Regional races. The women finished 11th followed by the men finishing 13th.

Sophomore Porsche Eismann placed 32nd in the women's 6k race to earn the highest finish ever for a CUI Eagle in a regional race at the NCAA DII level. Eismann said, “placing the highest individually ever before in CUI history is the best collegiate accomplishment for me.”  

During the season, Eismann values self-discipline by, “eating healthy, drinking lots of water, and doing extra strength training on my own.” Eismann added, “This helps me avoid injuries such as ankle mobility and shin and calf strengthening.” When asked how the team felt when leaving the race, she said, “We were all very happy leaving the race knowing we placed 11th.” She added, “It was the highest we have ever finished on the girls team, so it was a huge accomplishment for us.”

Head Coach Keegan Bloomfield is extremely proud of his athletes. Bloomfield said, “We talked a lot about how we were going to approach the race, the start, and the discomfort in the middle.” He added, “We had some placing goals, but we really were just focused on the process of getting to and competing in the race. And as a whole we've always been focused on improvement both as a team and as individuals and this was one more step of improving.”

Bloomfield loves how connected the team is. He said, “We have student-athletes from all over the country and world and every year they come together and bond over miles and miles, hours and hours of hard work.” By the end of the season, he said, “They're so connected because of their sacrifices, and I love that they put so much into the sport to build, succeed, improve, and compete; at the end they have these relationships that will last a lifetime.” Bloomfield is “thankful for each of the student-athletes and their choice to buy into what we're doing here at CUI.”

Bloomfield added, “Porsche Eismann really stood out on the women's side. She is now our highest ever finisher in school history placing 32nd overall and Sara Feitz and Adrianna Gil also had amazing races for the women.” He added, “The men's team was led by Hector and Angel, I couldn't be more proud to coach these two guys. They've made so many sacrifices to help this program improve and to see them lead the team one more time was really a fun moment for me.”  

The cross country and track and field team will have an intrasquad meet on Nov., 20 at 10 a.m. at the Eagles field. Make sure to get out there and support our fellow Eagles. To keep up with their events, follow their Instagram and Twitter @CUITFXC. 

Tags: cross country, game, Men's Athletics

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