New-look Rangers aim to build, reach new heights in 2023

Aug 30 | By: Caty Llamas; Athletics Graduate Assistant

DENVER, Colo. – With the 2023 season less than a week away, the Regis University women's cross country team is looking to turn a new leaf thanks to Head Coach Evan Verbal, who joined the Regis staff back in May 2023.

Verbal, a two-time NCAA Division II All-American track star and former cross country coach at Colorado Christian University, is looking forward to taking this new program further than it's gone before, wanting to not only be successful, but also create a new culture for the program.

"Success looks like starting a really healthy culture around training and just having a great community on the team," said Verbal. "That means showing up to practice on time, doing the work, doing the mileage, having a good attitude, but also communicating well, having fun together, enjoying the work, and being good friends and supporters in each others' lives."

With community can come success, and for the inaugural year of Verbal's program, some of the athletes have a chance at re-writing the record books.

"I'm really excited for the season, I really feel like we can do some things that haven't been done before which is exciting and I think the group is ready to go," said Verbal. "We have records in mind for this year, and I think we have the athletes to do that."

NEWCOMERS
The Rangers welcome four new faces to the squad this fall, including true freshmen Allie Braney, Laura Esparza, Gaia Price, and Julia Gerardo. Three of the freshmen are local to the Denver area while Gerardo is from Texas, but all four are expected to help the women's program make big strides in their debuts this fall. All four runners have extensive experience in the sport, and Verbal expects big things from all of them, especially Braney.

"[Braney] is coming in from Ralston Valley and she just lives and breathes the sport, you can just tell," said Verbal. "I would like to re-write the record books on the women's side and I think she's got a good shot at that."

The 2023 squad has a member who is new to Verbal's program, but not to the Regis cross country program. Grace McGettigan is senior on the squad but was with the program back in 2020 as a freshman. With her seniority, Verbal says she's already stepped up as a leader and is serving as a role model for the young squad, one who can show them the ropes.

"Having her is huge because she can lead the team really well. She's someone who's getting ready to move on to that next phase of life and she's been a great mentor for the team," said Verbal.

RETURNERS
While a mostly new squad, two members of the 2022 squad are returning. Adrianna Ventura Hill and Abigail Blanner are two members that can contribute to both the culture and bring experience to the team. Blanner competed in two races for the Rangers while Ventura Hill ran in three.

LOOKING FORWARD
The Rangers are opening their 2023 season at the UCCS Rust Buster Invitational hosted by the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs at Monument Valley Park.

"With it being our first race, we really want it to be something that builds confidence in the team," said Verbal. "I think we're going to take a conservative approach to start the race and we're going to have people run together and we'll do that for the first couple of miles and let them finish hard."

While in years past, the Rust Buster Invitational was an opportunity to get back into their rhythm, the women's cross country team has hit the ground running and Verbal is hoping to reach new heights with this squad.

"Right now, honestly, the few days I've spent with them, they're all running well. A lot of them are replicating their race paces from last year in practice. That's a great thing to see. I love what they're all doing," said Verbal.

As for the rest of the season, the women's cross country team is looking to beat some RMAC teams as well as others when they travel around the country. In addition, the Rangers are looking to be well-represented at the end of the season at the RMAC Championships and the South Central Regional meet in November.

"That's probably our biggest goal. We just want to get some wins, that's huge for us as far as a results standpoint. But I even told the team, if we get a lot better and everyone comes away from the season running a personal best, and we still don't beat a team, I'm okay with that," said Verbal. "All you can do is your best and all you can do is get better and you can't ask for more than that as a coach."

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