Coach Dahlberg tries to lead Wyoming cross country back to nationals
LARAMIE, Wyo. (BVM) – It hasn’t been about the program, the culture or what is said to them. The Wyoming men’s cross country team has been improving in one of the toughest regions in the nation.
Head coach Scott Dahlberg takes no credit for the work that has led the Cowboys to greater successes.
“I mean I can try to foster a certain culture or try to push them within workouts, but it’s on them to decide to do it this way,” Dahlberg said. “That’s something that they [the athletes] all deserve credit for.”
Due to a shortened and postponed season, the Cowboys were only able to compete in two races before the Mountain West Conference meet. These races were a dual against Colorado State and the Battle Born Collegiate Challenge in Las Vegas on Feb. 19.
The performance in Vegas gave the Cowboys a bittersweet taste as they lost to CSU by only seven points and finished eighth. However, the performance wasn’t a complete loss.
“It was definitely a step in the right direction,” Dahlberg said. “I think the group just executed really well out in Las Vegas and they worked together.”
Dahlberg was glad to see Wyoming’s top three runners in their pack.
“The way that Seth [Bruxvoort], JT [Jerald Taylor] and Albert [Steiner] worked together was very good,” he said. “They kept each other in the mix and that was pretty crucial for us to score lower team points.”
Steiner finished first for Wyoming, placing 29th overall with a time of 23:55.6. Bruxvoort finished 31st at 23:57.0 and Taylor 36th at 24:02.1. The Cowboys also had Philip Henry finish third overall in the other men’s race at a time of 24:54.8, which would’ve placed him fifth on the team in the first race.
“He [Henry] really ran extremely well in that race, kind of a breakthrough race in his college career at this point,” Dahlberg said about Henry’s race.
After the performance at Battle Born, Dahlberg and the team knew that the rankings for them could go either way.
According to the National Coaches Poll on Feb. 17, the Cowboys were ranked 36th in the nation, receiving seven votes. The newest poll, March 3, delivered the blow of no longer receiving votes.
“It’s fun to be ranked, but we also know that being ranked doesn’t necessarily mean anything for our goal of going to nationals,” he said. “It’s just a snapshot of where we’re at right now.”
Before Dahlberg or the Cowboys can think about the national championship meet, they have to do well enough at the Mountain West Conference Championships to be invited.
Typically, teams and individuals are invited after performances at the regional races. But due to COVID-19, there isn’t a regional meet this season. A committee will select teams heavily based on conference meet performances.
The Mountain West Conference Championships are March 5 in Las Vegas. Some of the teams that will be competing have performed very well this year. Dahlberg listed Air Force, Utah State, CSU and Boise State as major teams to watch out for, but he knows one thing about his team.
“We’ve yet to run our best race, we were running better, but we’ve yet to run our best race,” he said.
Dahlberg has been to these championships before with Wyoming and during his time coaching at CSU. Dahlberg took over as head coach at Wyoming for both the men’s and women’s teams in 2018 and has led the team to outstanding feats.
In 2018, the men’s team reached the NCAA National Championships for the first time since 1986, where they placed 12th.
The Wyoming Cowboys look to make a big enough impact at the MW Championships and reach nationals once again.
“At this point, we really just have to take care of business and beat as many teams as possible,” Dahlberg said. “Then when the committee makes the decision, we try to make it hard on them.”
For a team that isn’t nationally known, the runners have a chance to make a significant impact on who is invited to the national championships which will be held in Stillwater, Okla. on March 15.
