ELON, N.C. – Now in his junior season,
Caden Strickland has his pre-meet routine down to a tee. However, an early wakeup call on Friday morning – to account for the Elon University cross country team's drive to East Carolina University – meant his meticulous warmup regimen would be going by the wayside.
"When you're waking up at 4 a.m., everything just goes out the window," Strickland said.
Arriving less than an hour before the Pirate Cross Country Invitational started, he was unable to do his methodical pre-race procedure, which lasts one hour and 10 minutes – with a 10-minute buffer for error. Strickland said he felt like he was in over his head.
Despite feeling thrown off and "getting off on the starting line cold," Strickland demolished his previous personal record in the men's 8,000-meter race, set the sixth fastest 8K time in program history and wildly surpassed his "really, really big goals and expectations."
"I didn't think it was my day, and I came out of that race feeling like I hadn't raced very well, but my time was a minute and 10 seconds faster than any [8K] I'd ever run before," Strickland said.
Strickland acknowledged that his 24:51.2 PR and top-six finish in program history might have come by way of having a clearer, more open mind than he normally does on a race day, but ultimately credited his head coach for his third straight finish as the top runner for the Phoenix.
"It's just a testament to the shape that I'm in right now, and how coach [Mark] Rinker has prepared us for these moments," Strickland said. "The way he has prepared us for right now, it's night and day compared to how prepared I've been in the past."
Finishing just 10 spots behind Strickland was redshirt sophomore Evan Taylor, who ran a 25:02.7, effectively setting his own PR. Strickland said it was nice to have Taylor – who has been the usual top finisher for the men in the last few seasons – back at the top of the pack with him.
"He was hurt over the summer, but now he's finally back in good shape," Strickland said of Taylor. "He was only like 10 seconds off the back of me. It's really good to have his company up there again, and I know that we're going to push each other really hard for the rest of the season."
With several of the women's usual top finishers not racing, sophomore Cami Glebocki capitalized on her opportunity in the spotlight. Without their typical veterans out in front, she and her fellow underclassmen suddenly found themselves in leadership positions foreign to them.
"Younger people like me, I'm used to just following the [top runners] and doing whatever they do," Glebocki said. "I'm just not used to being up there and knowing that I'm setting a pace for the pack."
"Before the race, [coach Rinker] said to us 'I want you guys to be in the lead pack,'" Glebocki added. "Going into a college race thinking that, I was like, 'Oh, that's scary. I can't imagine being up there.'"
Despite the 6K being her first time leading the pack for Elon, Glebocki said the affirmations of reassurance and belief from her coaches and teammates alike helped propel her to a 22:46.8, marking a PR of her own.
"They reminded us of everything we've done so far this season, how we've been working so hard and everything that we've done to be in good shape," Glebocki said. "Them putting that confidence in us, gives me confidence."
Looking to build on strong performances from the past weekend, Elon will look ahead to the Phoenix Invitational scheduled for Friday, Oct. 18. With next weekend being the second of three meets that the Phoenix play host to this season, Strickland is eager to get back out on his home turf.
"I always run really well in front of a home crowd," Strickland said. "I want to put on a show for them and I'm trying to give the people what they want, a win."
'Rising Phoenix' is a student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on X (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Chase Strawser at cstrawser@elon.edu.
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