THIBODAUX, La. -- Following a successful showing at the Southland Conference Cross Country Championships and the NCAA South Central Regional scheduled just a week away on Nov. 15, the Nicholls men's and women's cross country squads are looking to cap off a season of growth and personal victories.
 
Head coach Stefanie Slekis indicated the goal when Athletics Director Matt Roan added her to the staff in 2017 was for a full revitalization of the cross country program. In her relatively short time at the university, Slekis said such development has gone according to plan.
 
The women's program picked up nine new members during the most recent recruiting period earlier this year, bumping up the roster total to 14. Slekis said having a consistent group that can practice and train together benefits the runners as a whole-something to which she attributes the success of the team.
 
"We had a big jump on the women's side with bringing in such a large class this past year," Slekis said. "We thought five or six each year would fill this up to being that roster we wanted, because when I got here, there was one distance runner on the roster."
 
Slekis said she has also seen a resurgence within the community, as interest in supporting the cross country programs has risen. For example, the team is able to host home events at the Nicholls Farm.
 
"I think that that's the kind of momentum you see, that we're able to put on events," Slekis continued. "We're able to have the home cross country meet now. That's two years in a row…It makes sense that as our facilities have improved, our team has improved as well."
 
The teams competed in the UNO Opener in New Orleans to kick off their 2019 campaign, where both squads had a promising showing. The men finished fourth overall and the women finished second overall.
 
Three runners from the women's squad finished in the top 10, with freshmen Elsa Rijpstra placing third, Augusta Marie Christensen placing fifth and Skyler Goodman placing ninth.
 
Slekis felt before the season began that this year could mark a "big jump" for the women's program. At the team's first meet, Slekis said she could see the impact of the newfound depth the women's roster has.
 
"We put nine women in front of [UNO's] number five runner…They matched up better with us in the top three, top four, but they're also rebuilding their program, so I think that was a big win for us," Slekis said.
 
With eight freshman and four sophomores on the roster, the women's team is a young group. Regardless, Slekis said they understand what it means to compete at a high level. She has seen her top runners act as leaders both on and off the course.
 
This season, she has stressed to her runners the idea of "buying into the process but attacking each day." When the women ran their first 6k in late October, Slekis said they were not intimidated by the distance.
 
"I think that's the mindset, that they trust the process, that they do the little things they need to do right each day…[if] they kind of focus on that, in the long term it's going to happen."
 
Though the men's side of the program is still working on building the depth that the women's side has already discovered, the team has already begun to show a promising future. Slekis saw several of her runners post notable 8k finishes in their first attempt at the longer distance at the UAB Blazer Classic on Oct. 18.
 
Freshman Olari Livingston, sophomore Dustin Worley and freshman Preston Whisenhunt all finished in under 27 minutes.
 
In addition, the team's fourth runner this season finished the 8k with a faster time than the team's top runner last season.
 
"It's exciting to see them realize that what we were doing was going to work…I thought they could run that fast. That was the plan workout-wise," Slekis said.
 
She said the men have handled the challenges that come with having limited depth on their roster extremely well.
 
"They haven't let that be an excuse."
 
With the South Central Regional approaching, the program has focused on matching up well with opponents.
 
"I look at results and look at spreads, and it's kind of like, there's no reason we should let this team beat us…Here's the three teams that I think we're going to match up close with. We're going to try to match up against them, and then our dream goal would be beating one of these two teams. Let's look for those runners," Slekis added.
 
Each year, the Virginia native said the program divides its season goals into three tiers, which gives the team room to grow. As a whole, Slekis said she is proud of the way her runners have bought into a rebuilding program and done things the right way while they are so young.
 
"They've just kind of taken ownership of it and said 'well, we want to be great, so we're going to take every day and do what we need to do to be great,'" Slekis noted.
 
Slekis wants people to know that cross country is a sport in which Nicholls can have a winning program, not just a competitive one.
 
"We want to build a tradition that every year the goal is to be competing for a championship," Slekis concluded.

UP NEXT
With the SLC Championships concluded, cross country looks to the team's final meet of the season: the NCAA South Central Regional, hosted this year by the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark. on Nov. 15.

STAY SOCIAL
For more information on Colonels Track & Field/Cross Country, follow the team on Twitter (@Nicholls_XCTF), Instagram (@geauxcolonels) and like their Facebook page (Nicholls Athletics).