By Paul Hof-Mahoney
December 4, 2024
In the hallowed halls of the CITIUS MAG group chats, I’m known as “Paulie Throws.” Whether it’s writing overly-long U.S. Trials throws previews that inevitably get trimmed for length or popping in for field event recaps on our post-Olympics show, I’m the guy reporting on every attempt of every event on the infield. But this fall, I decided to take on a new challenge: keeping up with collegiate cross country.
Now, I know it sounds crazy that a fellow Florida Gator didn’t closely follow the fall season during The Year Of Parker Valby, and looking back now, I think it’s crazy too! I quickly realized (and repented for) my ignorance while helping out with some research for a fun piece by fellow intern Audrey Allen comparing 1500m/mile and cross country success in the leadup to this season. Before even setting foot on a course, I was hooked.
I didn’t have to wait long to scratch my itch as I headed up to Tallahassee the second weekend of October to catch the FSU Invite. It was a very low-key race that ultimately ended up looking like an FSU-LSU dual meet, but my first taste of true cross country vibes was immaculate, giving me a glimpse of what I had been missing out on. Cross-country meets feel alive – a huge sea of tangled up bodies, teams moving through warmups as a fourteen-legged unit, coaches shouting instructions to their athletes from right there on the edge of the course – everything felt so connected and I was enthralled from start to finish. While at this race, I also had the lingering thought in the back of my head the whole time that it is so weird that the World Cross Country Championship is going to be in Tallahassee, Florida, of all places, in 13 months.
Next up on my calendar was the Big Ten champs, hosted by Illinois. A championship title on the line made the stakes – and the energy – way higher. Chasing the fastest collegians from the Midwest (and the not-so-Midwest) around a golf course for a little over 40 minutes was thoroughly exhausting, but I learned an important lesson: There is no greater bond between spectators in this sport than the one formed by huffing and puffing back and forth across a damp field on a crisp 45°F morning with the same pack of parents, friends, and fans.
After the meet, individual champs Şilan Ayyildiz, and Bob Liking couldn’t stop talking about their respective team wins- even though they had just earned the all-important one point finish. Ayyildiz emphasized that Oregon winning as a team was her main goal throughout the whole season. Even with coach Shalane Flanagan’s laundry list of accolades from her time as an athlete, her palpable joy and pride in what her team was able to accomplish in her first season as head coach of the Oregon women couldn’t help but make you smile.
It began to become clear what separates cross country from its in-stadium cousin. Cross-country is pure sports. There’s no specialization, there’s no chasing times, there’s no pacers, and you can’t win team titles on the back of one star. On the track, there are so many more opportunities for individual glory to outshine any team or brand logo on your chest, but all the beauty of cross country is the collective pursuit. To quote Providence’s Laura Mooney: “To do something as an individual is something, but to do something as a team is f*cking everything.”
Even though we didn’t grab a surprise 3rd-place finish ourselves, the CITIUS team still had a successful trip up to Wisconsin for Nationals. Not even a lost wallet on a hectic travel day could bring this weekend down. I think I’m contractually obligated to say that the highlight of the whole weekend was finally meeting Chris Chavez after working for him for 8 months, but in all seriousness it was an incredible meet that couldn’t have been scripted any better.
We’ve talked enough about what actually went down in Madison, but one moment that stuck in my head outside the results was about 90 seconds before the starting gun went off, when fellow CITIUS MAG correspondent Jasmine Fehr and I got a little too ambitious with how close we’d be able to get to the start line. As we frantically tried to find a way off the course so as not to get trampled by the pack, it was nearly impossible to find a gap in a solid wall of people five rows deep lining both sides of the opening straightaway. THAT kind of attendance, bumping right up against where the athletes were racing, is so hard to match in a collegiate track setting.
Paul and Jasmine just minutes before all the action (and chaos) kicked off.
From following around legends like Sonia O’Sullivan and Diljeet Taylor around the course, to watching Habtom Samuel lose his shoe with 5K to go then battle to a runner-up finish, to his jersey swap heard ‘round the world with NCAA Graham Blanks, the whole race felt like we were getting the best – and most accessible – version of track and field. While TV broadcasts of cross-country can be hit-or miss, the in-person experience is unrivaled.
If there’s some grand point to this reflective rambling, it’s that there are lessons for track and field to be learned from cross-country. Whether it’s bringing fans physically closer to the action (like an infield beer garden or on-track cheering during distance races), hyping up the team competition (who doesn’t love cheering for a 4x400m with an NCAA title on the line?), or simply throwing out the clock and focusing on competition (looking at you, Grand Slam Track), the things XC is doing right can be replicated and adapted. I’ll see you out on the grass next fall, and maybe in the meantime we can work together to bring that same energy to the throwing ring.
Paul Hof-Mahoney
Paul is currently a student at the University of Florida (Go Gators) and is incredibly excited to be making his way into the track and field scene. He loves getting the opportunity to showcase the fascinating storylines that build up year-over-year across all events (but especially the throws).
