Canes Take on NCAA South Region Championships
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Emma Langlois and five members of the men’s cross country team return to Tallahassee for the NCAA South Region Cross Country Championships at Apalachee Regional Park.
As the lone female representing the Canes, Langlois is looking to set yet another PR at Florida State in her fifth race of the season.
“I really want to PR, like a big PR,” Langlois said. “Last time we raced there, I got like a small PR and I didn’t think my finish represented my fitness. Then, at ACCs, I didn’t have the best finish because I was sick, but now I’m looking to show all the improvement that I’ve made.”
Langlois will be in a field of 29 scoring women’s teams represented by 36 universities, while Dylan Sykes, Dillon Fields, Andrew Madden, Matthew Wiefels and Justin Rittenhouse will be up against 25 scoring men’s team represented by 30 schools. With all six of the Canes having already competed at the course, the Canes have the advantage heading into Friday’s competition.
“I think it’s a big plus because you can visualize how you’re going to run different parts of the race, that way when you get to the actual course it’s not like, ‘Oh, how long do I have left?'”, Langlois said. “Just knowing how long you have and how you can expand your energy over the course is super big. If you can visualize passing girls at this point or surging at certain point makes it that better of a race.”
Friday’s race is one of the biggest competition more than half the Miami squad will compete in to date, but being the underdog is thrilling to Langlois. The idea of proving people wrong helps fuel her eagerness to compete.
With that in the back of her mind, Langlois wants to be gutsy in this week’s race. Getting out of her head and not being afraid to run is yet another goal Langlois has set for herself. In what is her best cross country season to date, she realizes that Friday could be the last race of the season, but also realizes how much she’s grown in her junior season.
“I have improved in my mentality and confidence,” Langlois said. “They’ve both improved a lot. It’s closer to where I’ve pictured myself as and where my coaches have pictured me to be. It’s more of a spring board into track and using this strength from this season, but it’s been a good wrap up to the season and something I can be really proud of.”
