Last Saturday, the Pomona-Pitzer men’s cross country team finished in a disappointing fifth place at the West Regionals Meet on Pomona’s campus. The results mean that the team will not advance to the NCAA National Meet next weekend in Cleveland, Ohio.

Part of the excitement of a cross country race comes from the fact that multiple months’ worth of training culminates in a performance that lasts only minutes. Unfortunately, no one can control exactly what will happen on race day, and it is impossible for a runner to always be ready to have his best race exactly when the starting gun goes off. Most of the men’s team would not pick their performances on Saturday as their best of the season, but in order to qualify for Nationals, the Regional Meet is virtually the only race that matters. In cross country, a trip to Ohio is not insured by playoffs or season rankings. If you have a bad race at Regionals, there are no second chances.

The top two teams from each region automatically qualify for Nationals, and this year those teams were CMS and Willamette. Up to three additional teams from each region can receive at-large bids. At-large bids are granted some consideration of earlier races in the season, but the Regional results still largely decide their fates. In addition, the top seven individuals from each region, not including those that qualify with a team, earn berths to the national meet. John Mering’s PO ’10 16th-place finish (26:21) was not quite enough to earn him an individual qualification, as he finished eighth among runners not on a qualifying team.

Mering was the first Sagehen to cross the finish line on Saturday. He was followed by Alex Johnson PI ’13 (21st place finish in 26:31), Brian Gillis PO ’10 (24th place in 26:43), Hale Shaw PI ’12 (32nd place in 27:00) and Charlie Enscoe PO ’11 (34th place in 27:08). Anders Crabo PO ’12 and Paul Balmer PO ’12, the Sagehens sixth and seventh runners, finished in 38th and 47th place with times of 27:14 and 27:41, respectively.

Although Pomona-Pitzer finished in fifth place, the team had five runners earn All-Region honors by finishing in the top 35 competitors, which once again showed the depth of the 2009 squad.While Saturday’s race may have been a disappointing finish for the Sagehen’s season, one day’s performance is still not representative of the entire season. The team as a whole—and many of its individuals—has dramatically improved since the 2008 season, and the team will only lose two of its top runners next season. With returning runners who put up fast times throughout this fall, 2010 looks as though it will be a promising year for Pomona-Pitzer’s harriers.