Mediocrity was not something the UCLA cross country program wanted to settle for.
Not in a league dominated by cross country powerhouse Oregon, which finished first in the final 2008 men’s poll and second in the women’s.
Not in a league that features four other Pac-10 women’s and men’s teams flaunting a number next to their name.
Changes were made, quickly.
UCLA parted ways with head coach Eric Peterson after a 15-year tenure and welcomed in a young Forest Braden and four-time Olympian and 800-meter American record-holder Johnny Gray.
“Our big thing right now is being positive and coming together as a complete team,” Braden said. “Everyone needs to make this thing work to get back in the top 3 at NCAAs every year.”
Having a consistent game plan seems to be the first and most important objective on the long list of goals the cross country staff has set.
“Right now, all the coaches are on the same page,” Braden said. “We’re really coming together as a coaching staff, so everyone knows what we have to accomplish and how we can work actively toward that.”
Two weeks ago the cross country team trained in Mammoth, where the air is much thinner at 8,000-9,000 feet above sea level.
At high altitudes and spending much of their time together, the athletes have had more time to bond and form a tightly knit pack.
“(Braden) has really brought the team together by having us all run together every day, which has allowed us to get to know each other more on a personal level like we’re doing up here in Mammoth,” junior Shannon Murakami said.
On the men’s side, Braden looks to three key seniors ““ Alex Crabill, Marco Anzures and Marlon Patterson ““ to be the strength in the upcoming year after a fifth place Pac-10 finish in 2008.
“The three senior guys are very close, and they’ve been to the national championships where they’ve toed the line with the best runners in the country,” Braden said. “They’re working well together, which is important when staying in a pack, running as a pack, and feeding off each other’s energy.”
Meanwhile, an understaffed women’s team looks to rebound from a last place finish in last year’s Pac-10s.
“We don’t have a deep team ““ we have eight women running cross country right now, but we have talent. It’s just about leadership and coming together,” Braden said.
That leadership might just come from Murakami, who has already won at the BYU Autumn Classic in Provo, Utah.
“She can run with the top girls in the Pac-10, and if you’re in the top group in the Pac-10, you’re one of the top girls in America,” Braden said.