by Grace Bailey ’28
Houghton University’s Cross Country and Track Team has done exceptionally well this year. Three runners for the team went as far as the national championships. In the fall, Noelle Linenfelser ‘26 went to Indiana, and for indoor track Victoria Brewster ‘27 and Alexa Belanger ‘28 made it to the national championships at Nazareth University.
Throughout the indoor track season, Belanger competed in the 4×200 meter relay, 4×400 meter and high jump, making it to nationals for high jump and setting a new school record, jumping 1.68 meters (5.51 feet). Brewster also competed in sprinting events, running the 200 meter, 4×200, 4×400, occasionally long-jump and headed to nationals for the 60 meter dash. She also set records for the 60 meter, running 7.49 seconds, and for the 200 meter with a time of 25.6 seconds. Not only did she set these records, but she also continuously broke and reset her own records within the school’s all-time records.
Leading up to regionals, Brewster and Belanger knew the expectations for their performance were set very high. Both competitors agreed that it was more stressful going into the Empire 8 Championships and Regionals than it was when they went to Nationals.
Belanger said, “Even though I was nervous it was also really exciting. I got a chance to fight harder for first.”
Both competitors were nervous, but they also said that it was a very fun and exciting experience. They knew they had to work hard because they knew what their goals were, along with what their coaches’ goals were.
The most stressful part of the whole process was finding out if they had made nationals or not. As far as Belanger was concerned, there was a lot of waiting. Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach Patrick Hager, said that after Belanger’s last height, he had a pretty good idea that she had made it. When results came in, everyone who had been rooting for them celebrated. Belanger’s favorite part of finding out she had made it to nationals was being able to celebrate with her older brother Avery.
When talking to Brewster about her reaction to making it to nationals, she said that she didn’t process the news for about a week. She was just very thankful that God had provided such an amazing opportunity. Placing second at nationals was very exciting for Brewster, but she didn’t really know how to react.
“I knew I wanted to just … point it all back to God,” she said.
Hager was thrilled not only to have two national qualifiers but also to have one of them be a runner up. Both of the athletes’ favorite part about going to nationals was being able to attend it together. They loved being able to compete at three different big meets together, and felt their bond grow closer over the few weeks it took to get there. Both Brewster and Belanger credit their successes to each others’ presence.
Brewster helped Belanger keep her nerves in check, which helped her perform better. The best experience for Brewster was attending with Belanger and seeing the whole team come out and support them. She wouldn’t have had as much fun if she had been there without the support.
Both competitors are feeling eager to move into the outdoor track season with the team.
Brewster, Belanger and the coaches all have their own expectations for this current season. Belanger would really like to either tie or break the outdoor high jump record. As a freshman, she still has plenty of time to break the record and set many more, so she is looking forward to that. However, she doesn’t want to put too much pressure on herself because if she does she won’t have as much fun as she’d like to. The most important thing to her for this season is to grow closer with the team, and have a very fun and memorable first season at Houghton.
Brewster agreed that she doesn’t want to set too many expectations for herself. She would like to take the season “one step at a time and go with the flow.”
Hager has set goals for the team as a whole. He would like to get a bigger number of qualifiers to regionals. He would also like to see anywhere from six to eight or more school records or even new top ten records. One of his more specific goals would be to beat Utica and make the top five at the Empire 8 Championships. Hager believes that “it’s go-time” and “We need to find and get into that rhythm again.”
Overall, all of the coaches and athletes are looking forward to the outdoor track season, and everyone is very eager to do their best at each meet. It’s very exciting to see the intensity and determination of each teammate as the season progresses. ★
