Another year brings another ring for Suffolk University’s women’s cross country team after they polished off a three-peat as Commonwealth Coast Conference champions last weekend.
This is the Rams third championship in as many seasons in the CCC and makes them the third team in the history of the conference to accomplish the feat in three consecutive seasons.
It was a stellar performance from the entire team as all five scorers finished in the top 15 and three of them finished in the top ten. Graduate student Ellie Davis had a record breaking day, as she set the new fastest time for a 6k in program history (22:58).
Head coach Will Feldman said this victory was the most gratifying of his three championships at Suffolk.
“The girls just dug really deep. I think this was just the toughest challenge and the grittiest performance that they’ve put together over the past three years. As a coach I was definitely just proud of them more so than I had been in previous years,” said Feldman.
Captain Sydney Fogg, a senior at Suffolk, said the team has had a real ability to show up in big moments like these throughout the season.
“We are super tough as a team. We can handle pressure and perform very well under any sort of conditions. I think the toughness, grit and dedication to leaving it all out there [we have] is exceptional,” said Fogg.
The team’s excellent individual performances in this race shouldn’t come as a surprise, as the team featured five runners that finished with all-conference honors. This falls one short of the program record six, which was set by last year’s squad.
Fogg said an achievement like this speaks to the team’s depth and consistency.
“All-conference is only the top 15 [runners] and there are nine other teams in the conference so that’s nine other teams full of runners to compete for spots with. The fact that we had a third of them speaks to our team’s depth for sure,” said Fogg.
Sophomore Amy Pattelena said having great leadership from the team’s upperclassmen has been huge to the team’s camaraderie and performance. She specifically commended the team’s captains Fogg, Davis and Suffolk Journal News Editor Sarah Roberts.
“They’re super friendly, super engaging with the team, super uplifting. They’re just friends along with everyone so it’s really cool to have them,” said Pattelena.
At the center of this talented group of runners is Feldman, who is no stranger to success at Suffolk. Feldman was a decorated athlete during his time at Suffolk and has been the coach of all three championship teams. He received CCC Coach of the Year honors in 2021 when the Rams won their first CCC crown.
Fogg believes Feldman doesn’t receive the recognition he deserves for how crucial he is to the runner’s success.
“He does not get enough credit for just how amazing of a person and a coach he is. I think all of us agree that we could not be where we are today as people and as athletes today without him. He pays so much attention to detail and he cares so much about his athletes not just as runners but as people. We are so lucky to have his guidance,” said Fogg.
Paired with coach Feldman’s wise advice, the team has developed their own mantra of “rodent mentality” as they’re racing.
Pattelena says “rodent mentality” is a mindset developed by the upperclassmen that the team uses when facing adversity.
“Sort of acting as a rat would on the course. Not really caring about the conditions and acting tough when the times get hard. We’ve all kinda said that to ourselves throughout the season,” said Pattelena.
Feldman says this mindset gives him extreme confidence in his team to get the job done when the going gets tough.
“Every coach has to do some cliché pep talk with their team before the race starts and this year I honestly told them I had nothing to say because I knew they’d find a way to do it. That’s just what they do. When things look bad, I know they’re gonna come through,” said Feldman.
The Rams championship performance over the weekend marked a new height for the program as they ranked sixth in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coach’s Association East region ranking. This is the highest poll position in team history.
Fogg said that gives the team a lot of motivation to perform well at the upcoming NCAA East Regionals.
“I think that is certainly a lot of motivation for us. We already had our sights set on regionals before the season. First we had conference, now we have regionals and there is a new motivation for sure,” said Fogg.
The race will take place at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, Nov. 11.
