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It can hang on an athlete’s shoulders like a lead vest, or slow his feet like ankle weights. Photos of former greats might begin to look like disappointed ghosts.
It is not this way for the UW-La Crosse men’s cross country team, runners in a program with a tradition that is unmatched in the WIAC.
To be sure, there are constant expectations on Eagles runners to win conference titles and compete for national championships.
If that is too much to handle, well, maybe UW-L isn’t the right place to be. Athletes know that even before their first training run.
“I don’t think kids would come here if they were afraid of living up to that tradition,” Eagles coach Don Fritsch said. “The kids who come here deserve credit, because they want those expectations.”
Last season, UW-L won its fourth straight WIAC title and 29th overall, then placed fifth at the NCAA Division III national meet.
Despite what Fritsch called “serious losses” from last fall, the Eagles are ranked third in the national coaches poll, two spots ahead of a UW-Stevens Point team that pushed them at last year’s conference meet and returns most of its key runners.
UW-L opens its 2008 season at the All-American Invitational on Saturday in Decorah, Iowa.
“I think pressure is a privilege,” junior Kyle Coghlan said. “It allows you to race at your best, which is why we’re out there. When you come here, you watch the older guys compete that way. That’s how you learn.”
The Eagles’ tradition stretches back four decades. The string of success is uninterrupted; there are no down periods in the program’s run of individual and team conference titles or national meet presence.
UW-L won two WIAC titles in the 1960s, eight in the 1970s, seven in the 1980s, five in the 1990s and five so far in the 2000s.
“It’s a lot harder to give up on yourself when you’re letting down the rich history of the team,” junior Dallas Vincent said. “You feel it’s your responsibility to carry that on.”
Fritsch sometimes calls upon history when addressing the team before a practice or a meet. But not too often.
“The kids put more pressure on themselves than I ever will,” said Fritsch, who has coached two national championship teams since taking over in 1998. “It’s tough enough on these guys. Nobody wants to be the team that drops the ball.”
This year’s team is a mix of juniors and seniors with national meet experience and talented sophomores and freshmen.
Last year’s No. 1 runner Paul Zdroik, who ran second at conference and fifth at the nationals, graduated from the program, leaving the Eagles looking for a true lead runner.
The good news for UW-L is that there are plenty of returning athletes to choose from. National meet veterans Connor Lonning, Paul Moran, Vincent and Coghlan are back, plus
seniors Logan O’Grady and Seth Webinger and junior Scott Hayden.
“On paper, we have the pieces to do something great,” Webinger said. “After the intrasquad meet, I think we look as competitive as in years past. All you can do is prepare yourself and hopefully on that (championship meet) day, you’re good enough.”
Vincent isn’t worried about the makeup of this year’s roster, which is short on battle-tested seniors — the core of most UW-L championship teams — but long on juniors and sophomores eager to step up.
“Some people may see us as unproven, but we do return four national team members. After that, it is a lot of unproven guys, but the core of the team is still there. They can carry on the tradition and pass on what needs to be done.”
Fritsch downplayed his team’s No. 1 Midwest Region and No. 3 national rankings.
“Not in my book,” Fritsch said. “Stevens Point, in my opinion, is the huge favorite. They’ve got a lot of seniors, all veterans, and on paper, they’re unbeatable. It’s going to be a huge gut-check for any team that would upset them, because the conference meet is (in Stevens Point) this year. It’s going to take a great effort.
“We’re in a transition year, with a lot of juniors who are going to have to lead us and some young, unproven runners. What we need is for those juniors to take charge right now, and we could have a nice two-year run with them if they do that.”
