On Sep. 13th, 2024, Whitworth’s women’s cross country travelled to Colfax, Washington to compete in the Cougar Classic, hosted by Washington State University. The Whitworth women’s team was the top finishing non-Division 1 team, placing 9 out of 13 teams. Abby Staley, who transferred from the University of Hawaii this past year, was a leader in Whitworth’s success at the Cougar Classic. Staley finished in 58 place, posting a time of 22:29:5.
Staley describes this year’s women’s team as, “Energetic, fresh and hard working.” She goes on stating that, “Building a base of trust and strong work ethic was a focus over the summer.” However, some of the credit for this base of trust can also be attributed to the women’s coach, Toby Schwarz. Staley acknowledges Schwarz saying, “I [have] really enjoyed running for [head coach] Toby. He really knows how to bring everyone together as a team.”
Schwarz speaks on how he prefers to communicate with his athletes to build this foundational trust stating, “We touch base with the athletes every day. Talk [about] how they are doing, how are things going?” Assistant coach Brandon Howell talks about the connections made between the athlete and the coaches, “A lot of it comes down to the relationships that we as coaches build with them. So, they feel comfortable talking to us.”
Schwarz also stresses the importance of making sure his athletes are physically capable of competing but also not pushing them too far and causing over-use injuries, which are quite common in cross country. Staley comments on this style of training saying, “He has a super, super deep depth of knowledge when it comes to running and how to properly train.”
Both runners and coaches know that the expectations are high as Whitworth the past few years has finished first or second in the Northwest Conference each year for cross country. Schwarz shares his hopes for the season stating, “Hopefully a top 30, maybe top 25 team, in the nation, which would be great.”
With expectations high and runners like Abby Staley leading the way, the Pirates are poised for a great season.
