Macalester’s men’s cross-country team looks hungry for another successful season after registering encouraging performances in their first two meets.

The men’s team began their season by finishing in fourth place out of eight teams in the St. John’s Invitational and followed with an eighth-place finish in the 15-team Luther All-American.

Head coach Steve Pasche, in his third year leading the Scots, expressed his satisfacton with the team’s start. "The guys are running well, and we’re ahead of schedule in training,” he said.

“We’ve had some spectacular times,” said co-captain Pete Dillon ’05. “We’re running faster times, and it’s been a more successful start than any year since I’ve been here.”

Bo Rydze ’05, who showed great promise last year, has continued his improvement and has paced the Scots in both races. Rydze finished 11th out of 144 runners at St. Johns with an 8,000-meter time of 28:29, and his time of 21:16 placed him 23rd out of 124 at Luther.

“He’s made a great step-up this year,” Pasche said of Rydze. “He’s a leader, and he gives more than just being the first one across the line.” Pasche is not overexcited about Rydze’s great start, however, noting that “there’s still a lot of the season left.”

Captains Tim Lewandowski ’03 and Dillon provide a solid nucleus for the 2002 team. Sophomores Eliot Brown and Eric Olson are ready for strong seasons and first-years Sky Brandt and Roscoe Sopiwnik have had impressive starts to their collegiate careers.

“Last season, we suffered a lot of injuries, but this year, we’re stronger overall. We’ve got a great first-year class and we’re deeper,” Dillon said.

The men’s team has been putting in a lot of effort to build on their early season success. “A lot of guys put in long summers and have worked very hard this year,” Dillon said. A typical week for the Scots often involves seven days of running, including three days of distance runs, one day of long time runs and a structured workout of intervals, not to mention the race on Saturday. “At the most, the top 10 runners can put in 80 to 90 miles per week,” Pasche said.

The men’s team is looking to build upon last season’s sixth-place conference and 11th-place regional finishes in 2002. “The conference is almost split into two tiers, with five historically strong teams. We’ve been on top of the second tier,” Pasche said.

The Scots will compete in the University of Minnesota’s Roy Griak Invitational tomorrow. The race starts at 10 a.m. at the ‘U’s Les Bolstad Golf Course in St. Paul.

The MIAC championships will be held at Como Park on Nov. 2 and the NCAA Central Regionals are at Grinnell, Iowa on Nov. 16. If the Scots can continue their progress, they may find themselves among the region’s best in November.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us, but if we run a smart race and capitalize on the other teams’ mistakes, we’ll do well,” Pasche said.

“We’ll surprise some folks,” Dillon said. “It’s gonna be a party.”