CEDAR CITY, Utah - Thursday afternoon will not only mark the beginning of the 2022 Cross Country season for the Southern Utah University men's and women's teams, but, it will also represent the beginning of Eric Houle's 31st season at the helm of the Thunderbird program.
"It's been an amazing career so far," said Houle. "You can't have an awesome career without awesome people supporting your dream and vision along the way. All along the line, there have been some great people to work with and work for."
When Houle began his career as the Head Coach for SUU 31 years ago, the program looked nothing like it does today. 43 conference championships later, Houle has set an unprecedented standard for success within his program, building SUU Cross Country into a national powerhouse from the ground up.
"At the beginning of my career, I think we took dead last in the mountain region, but I remember just being excited because I knew that our program was not going to stay that way. We just continued to work, and a few years later, we won the Mountain Region. Sustaining that level of success in a small program is difficult, but we have worked incredibly hard year in and year out to assure that we maintain a high level of success."
The 2022 season will mark somewhat of a new era for SUU cross country, as they will enter their first season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference.
Haley Tanne and Madisan DeBos are two of the biggest returning names on the women's side, and Isaiah Labra, Travis Feeny, and Max Spence highlight some of the returners for the men's team.
With a strong returning core on both teams, the Southern Utah cross country programs will look to compete for a WAC Championship in their first year competing in the conference. An extremely difficult regular-season schedule awaits both teams this season, as Houle has put a strong emphasis on scheduling difficult opponents throughout the regular season to prepare his teams for postseason competition.
"With where our program is at, if I back off of scheduling difficult opponents, we will be taking a step backwards. When we first started scheduling as we do now, our athletes might have looked over at the name on the jersey next to them and been intimidated, but now it doesn't matter what team we are going up against. It doesn't phase our athletes, because we know that we can compete at the highest levels."
Both teams will have the opportunity to display their abilities against some of the top programs in the nation this year in an absolutely loaded schedule that includes meets hosted by Notre Dame and Oklahoma State in preparation for the WAC Championships on October 29.
Men's Preview
The Southern Utah men's cross country team is coming off of another strong season that saw them take second place in the Big Sky Conference Championships and qualify for the NCAA National Championships for the seventh time in eight years, finishing the 2021 season as the 24th best team in the country.
The Thunderbirds lost seniors Nate Osterstock, Christian Rickett, and Jacob Francis, but they return three runners that competed in the National Championships in Isaiah Labra, Travis Feeny, and Max Spence.
"I think our men's team has a strong core of runners this year with solid experience. We also have a few freshmen that have looked good so far, and I think that we are going to be pretty tough this season," said Houle.
Labra, Feeny, and Spence will look to anchor the SUU men's cross country team, and hopefully, help lead them to their eighth NCAA Championship appearance in nine years.
Santiago Gaitan, Hayden Harward, Max Jones, and Coleman Cragun will also be back competing for the Thunderbirds this season, as the team will not be short on depth this year.
Replacing Osterstock and Rickett will be a difficult task; but, Houle hopes that with the depth his team possesses this season, the entire lineup can work together to fill their production, with each individual making similar levels of contribution and continuing to improve their times throughout the year, instead of relying on a couple of athletes to carry the majority of the weight.
Houle and assistant coach Logan Petty have also done a great job of continuing to bring in fresh new talent that fit the program well. Houle specifically mentioned three-time Nevada High School State Champion, Nathan Carlin, and four-time Arizona Cross Country State Champion, Bowen Martin, as newcomers who have stood out thus far leading up to the beginning of the season.
Houle also emphasized that he believes there are others who have the potential to rise quickly and make a strong impact this season.
The men's team enters the 2022 season ranked ninth in the Mountain Region by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Women's Preview
The Southern Utah women's cross country team is also coming off of a strong 2021 season, in which they took fifth place in the Big Sky Championships while qualifying for the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships, where they finished 14th.
The 2022 team is extremely young, as 14 of the 19 runners on the roster are underclassmen; but, they are not short on talent, and they will look to keep growing and improving throughout the season as the underclassmen continue to gain more experience.
"We have a solid core, but we also have a very young and unproven second half, so it's going to take a little bit of time for them to develop, but my hope is that they can continue to improve and hopefully will be on a different level than they currently are by the WAC Championships," said Houle.
Haley Tanne and Madisan DeBos highlight the returning players on the women's side, as the duo will look to improve upon a solid 2021 season and lead the SUU women's team to another successful campaign this fall.
Tanne is coming off of an exceptional outdoor track and field season in which she set a school record for the 3k steeplechase. She had a strong 2021 Cross Country season, setting a personal record in the 2021 Big Sky Conference Championships, but she expects what will be her fifth and final season to be her best yet.
DeBos had an exceptional 2021 season, setting a personal record in the 5k at the Big Sky Championships to claim a 17th-place finish in the individual standings. Other highlights from her 2021 cross country season include an 18th-place finish at the FSU XC Open and a fourth-place finish at the 2021 UVU XC Invitational. DeBos will look to improve her numbers this year, and take on a lead role for the women's team.
"Haley and Madisan will be a great duo for us to build around," said Houle. "They are both going to be competitive for us, and they have competed on the highest level for us before so they are not going to be intimidated by anything."
The rest of the Southern Utah lineup may shift throughout the season, as Houle continues to work to develop the younger runners on the team.
"We have a good solid training program, and we just need to have confidence in the process and we will be fine this season," said Houle.
Similar to the men's roster, the women's team has also brought in some strong new talent that has the potential to make an immediate impact on the program.
Houle mentioned Sammi Stewart and Addie Dalton as newcomers that have looked strong so far; but, he believes that the entire freshman class has the potential to improve and compete at a high level.
"We have a lot of young talent, and I think given time it will be very interesting to see who steps up and rises above some of the others."
The Southern Utah women's cross country team opens the season ranked 14th in the Mountain Region by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
UVU Invitational
Both the men's and women's teams will begin the season tomorrow afternoon at the Utah Valley Invitational, with the women scheduled to begin at 2:30 PM MT followed by the men at 3 PM MT.
Tomorrow's meet will consist almost entirely of underclassmen, as Houle plans to hold his older and more experienced competitors out in order to give the younger athletes a chance to gain some experience and show what they can do early in the season.
Other teams participating in the meet will include the host school Utah Valley, as well as BYU, Idaho State, Salt Lake CC, and Utah.
Follow Us
Stay up to date during the 2022 Thunderbird Cross Country season by following @SUUTFXC on Twitter and Instagram and liking the Southern Utah Track & Field and Cross Country page on Facebook.
