This Saturday, Nov. 2, however, an injury-riddled men's team will limp into the conference championships with diminished post-season hopes that rest on a single runner.
Ezra Ellis, a junior from Spokane, Wash., is the only survivor from among the top runners that began the season on coach Keith Jensen's roster.
Ellis, a junior from Spokane, Wash., returned to competitive running this fall for the first time since a severe ankle injury nipped his collegiate career in the bud during his freshman year at Stanford University.
Ellis hopes to continue his steady comeback with a strong showing at the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges (NCIC) championships this Saturday at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. The men's 8,000 meters begins at 11:15 a.m.
Ellis can qualify for the NAIA nationals by placing among the top five runners not on the winning team. Jensen expects Pacific Lutheran University to claim the team title. A host of runners, including several from the University of Puget Sound, Linfield College and Willamette University, will compete for the remaining individual berths to nationals.
"It's going to be extremely competitive," Jensen said. "Ezra has continued to get better and better this fall, and he is so competitive and determined. I wouldn't count him out of anything."
Ellis received an athletic scholarship to attend Stanford University after placing second in the Washington state high school cross country championships as a senior at Ferris High School in Spokane.
This fall, based on past accomplishments, Ellis began the season as Whitman's No. 3 runner. But Alex Rolfe, a senior from Missoula, Mont., and last year's NCIC cross country champion, has missed the entire season with an Achilles tendon problem. Midway through the season, leg problems sidelined Josh Carney, a senior from Pocatello, Idaho, who led Whitman to a share of the conference team title two years ago.
The men's team also lost Jesse Philo, a sophomore from Walla Walla, and Doug Pierson, a sophomore from Portland, Ore., to mid-season injuries. Philo began the season as one of Whitman's top five runners, while Pierson was expected to help round out the top seven.
"The injuries have been horrible," Jensen said. "This is my 18th season coaching cross country, and we've never had a team hit this hard before."
Others representing the men's team this Saturday in the conference finals include David Toomey, a junior from Santa Rosa, Calif., and two seniors, Derek Hayner (Federal Way, Wash.) and Brett Kmiec (Bellingham, Wash.).
Also competing for Whitman will be Daniel Moore, a sophomore from Morrison, Colo., and three freshmen, Sean Menton (Claremont, Calif.), Shane Dennis (Billings, Mont.) and Keliihonui Kotubetey (Kailua, Hawaii).