Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Prepare For Cross Country Pre-Nationals
October 15, 2015 | Cross Country, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When Ammar Moussa and his Colorado cross country teammates toe the start line for Saturday's NCAA Pre-Nationals Invitational in Louisville, Ky., their number one goal won't be to win the meet.
The Buffs' top priority will be to learn the course — because in a little more than a month, they'll be returning to E.P. 'Tom' Sawyer Park for the NCAA Championships, where the CU men will be aiming for their third consecutive national title and the women will have their sights set on a top-three finish.
“It's a big advantage that you get when you know the layout of the course, what's up and what's down,” said Moussa, who finished fifth in last year's national championships in Terre Haute, Ind., leading the Buffs to their second straight national title. “Terre Haute, it was the eighth or ninth time I'd run it. You know where the moves are going to be made. It blows my mind that coaches think you can go to Louisville the day before the race for the first time and expect the team to know the course.”
While the Buffs annually make a trip to the Pre-Nationals part of their schedule, not all of the other top programs do so. In fact, more than half of the top 30 men's teams in the nation and 20 of the top 25 women's programs will be in Wisconsin this weekend for the Wisconsin adidas Invitational.
But not the Buffs.
“That's where lots of people go, but there's no NCAA Championship races in Wisconsin,” Moussa said. “You go there to beat each other up. That doesn't sound appealing to me. I'd rather go to Louisville, know the course, know where people are going to be dying and where I'm going to be rolling people up come November.”
And that, of course, is the Buffs' plan — to return to Louisville in November and run their best race of the year when it matters most. The men, ranked No. 1 in the nation, will almost certainly be the favorite; the CU women, currently ranked No. 2, will likely be among the favorites for a podium finish.
Not that the Buffs won't run hard Saturday. But if all goes to head coach Mark Wetmore's plan, the Buffs won't be at their best for another month. They'll aim for a good day Saturday, up their level a notch at the Oct. 30 Pac-12 Championships, bump it up a little more for the NCAA Mountain Regionals on Nov. 13, and then be at their peak for the Nov. 21 NCAA Championships.
“We all want to run fast on Saturday, but that's Mark's job to figure out what we'll do,” Moussa said. “Tuesday and Wednesday (training) this week will be a little tougher than Tuesday and Wednesday before nationals, but we'll be OK with being a little tired going into Saturday's race. It's Mark's job to figure out what we have to run. We do what he tells us and trust his judgment. It's not tough for us — he has the tough job.”
Moussa, a two-time California state prep cross country champ, might be the perfect example of how the Buffs tailor their season. A year ago, he finished eighth at the Pre-Nationals, sixth at the Pac-12 meet, ninth at regionals — and fifth in the NCAA meet. He literally saved his best for last.
“All year, I felt like I was on the cusp of something,” the CU senior said. “I would just make a mistake here or there. I don't want to say I was lucky at nationals, because I worked really hard to get to that point. I trained well. But it was a crowded day and things fell my way. I went in thinking I could be top 10 because I'd finished sixth at conference and made some mistakes. I knew it was right there if I could just bring it all together.”
Last year's NCAA Championships was the only time all season that Moussa was the Buffs' top finisher. CU finished with three runners in the top 10 and four in the top 25; Moussa said the goal this year is to be even better.
“Five in the top 25 is very attainable,” Moussa said. “I would want five in the top 15, to be honest with you. I finished fifth last year and it could have been any of us. On any given day, we don't know who's going to be the top guy.”
Indeed, it wouldn't be surprising this week to see Moussa finish as the top CU runner — or Pierce Murphy, Morgan Pearson or Connor Winter. Moussa said it's the individual competition among the Buffs that makes them such a strong team.
“We all have individual goals,” Moussa said. “Straightforward, I want to win nationals. But everyone on this team wants to be the best runner. We push ourselves to another level. We hold ourselves to a higher standard. I have goals, but I'm not worried about chasing them. We're going to keep getting better, and because we have guys who have finished in the top 10 in the country, our mindset is that we're all going to be in the top 10.”
Of course, all that confidence needs someone to make sure that reality is always part of the foundation. Wetmore fits the bill perfectly.
“Mark's favorite saying is, 'Stay righteous,'” Moussa said. “I really like that. Stay true to what we believe in. Stay true to ourselves. Eat right, train hard, be smart, do what they tell us and not be a bunch of overconfident kids.”
Naturally, there are unknowns — injuries, sickness — that can derail even the best of teams.
But those are things the Buffs can't control. As for the things they can control, their aim to to make sure they are addressing every detail possible.
“All we can do is make sure that there's no doubt every day that we did what was required of us and we did it to the best of our abilities,” Moussa said. “We know that we're good, but we know we have to do all the right things. We have to listen to Mark and Heather (Burroughs, associate head coach) and trust them. We have to work hard. Stay righteous.
“If we do all of that, come Nov. 21 we should be OK.”
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
