As the end of fall season is approaching, our cross country team is slowly wrapping up their season at the SCAC Conference Championship (Oct. 27). Two seniors reflected on the Crusader version of a homecoming meet as well as their volunteer experience during their season.
James Latour a senior double major in mathematics and physics, is from Lubbock, Texas. Within his hometown, the Texas Tech Open 8k was being hosted. Coach Nick Schneigert, the head coach of the cross country team, took up the opportunity to host a homecoming meet.
“I think the coach usually tries to do a meet for the seniors in the cities that they come from and usually, he’ll ask [their] families to do something with the team,” Latour said.
For Latour’s homecoming, his family hosted a large dinner with pasta and garlic bread for the team to enjoy and to prepare for the race tomorrow. It is important to mention that carbs are ideal to eat before a race.
“That was a very nice dinner. We met his parents. They were so nice. They gave us this dinner and desserts,” Melissa Gabino, senior business major, shared. “We also got to see his hometown […] it was nice visiting the city and the drive there was very pretty.”
The next day, the team raced together with high spirits. Not only was it the first 8k that the Crusaders have run this season but there was a heavy storm that recently passed by.
“For the race, the course had been flooded so it was super muddy and there were these two or three small ponds. They were like knee deep water and that was just really fun to run through,” Latour mentioned.
After a very adventurous race, our Crusaders did community service at Christ the King Cathedral School, a local school within the town.
“Our coaches really love volunteering so he always asks to volunteer whenever we do one of these senior meet things,” Latour explained. “We happened to volunteer at one of the high schools in my hometown.”
“We went to talk to students from elementary to high school,” Gabino shared. “We’re just telling them about what it is and how it feels to do sports and do school here [at UD]. We also told them about the experiences just like [sharing] the college experience and sports experiences.”
In the light of Charity Week, the cross country’s intentions in being servant leaders allowed them to not only serve their community but also grant them an opportunity for the team to bond with each other.
“When you work with the team, outside of just team activities like practicing, then you just get closer,” Latour said.
“It was nice to know more about each other because they were asking each of us personal questions like ‘What do you like?’, ‘What do you do?’ or ‘What made you join this?’” Gabino shared. “It was like seeing [more] connections [and] we got to know each other more.”