Historic Two Years for Women's XC
Sunday, April 23, 2023 - 1:00 pm | Dylan Kessler
On a yearly basis, the goal for most collegiate cross country programs is to be highly competitive and make it to their respective National Championship meet. For an even smaller group of teams, their goal is to be in contention to win a National Championship. With the level of competition continually increasing, that is often a tall order and challenging task, no matter the level, whether it is at a four-year NCAA university, or a two-year NJCAA college. Remaining highly competitive is extremely difficult and with most collegiate sports programs, nothing is guaranteed and even more so at the NJCAA level because it is only a two-year program with a very small time period of opportunities to accomplish all of the goals necessary to be positioned high among the countries best in national rankings.
What the Mesa Community College (MCC) women's cross country team has done over the last two years has been a remarkable display of consistent success that has "raised the bar" to new heights. No MCC women's cross country team has ever won a National Championship or even finished Runner-Up. One would need to go all the way back to the year 1996 to see the program's best finish (third place) at Nationals.
Over the last two years, the MCC women's cross country team has been one of the top-tier programs in the country, enjoying a high level of success, with a couple of agonizing lows along the way. During the Fall 2021 season, the women placed third overall to bring back their first NJCAA trophy since 1990. They followed that up a year later and improved to NJCAA National Runner-Up, missing the National Championship by just one point.
Third place team - 2021 National Championships - Richmond, VA
Runner-up team - 2022 National Championships - Tallahassee, FL
At the core of the MCC women's cross country team are three sophomores (second-year student-athletes) that came together two years ago as freshmen and took the program to spectacular heights. Kate Brockman (Red Mountain High School), Anna Harmon (Flagstaff High School), and Story Alexander (Highland High School) had arguably the best two years at MCC than any other runners in its history. That is a tremendous accomplishment, given that MCC has a storied and rich tradition of success with many All-Americans throughout the years. Kate finished as a two-time All-American and National Runner-Up (2021), Anna Harmon was the 2022 National Runner-Up, and Story Alexander earned All-American honors in 2022.
We sat down with Kate, Anna, and Story to talk about their time at MCC and what it means for them to have placed third and second respectively as a team and winning two team trophies in their two years in the cross country program.
What does it mean to you to be part of a two-year program and lead the women's team to two top-three finishes and winning two trophies in your two years here?
Kate: This means everything to me! You don't realize all that you have done individually or as a team until it's almost over like it is now, and we are so proud of our program.
Anna: This program means so much to me it's hard to put it into words. Getting the opportunity to help lead the team to two top-three finishes and winning two trophies in two years made me feel so proud to be a part of this team. This experience means so much to me, not only did it give me a newfound confidence in myself, but it brought me a sisterhood with my teammates. Friends that made me love being here every day. This program brought me an irreplaceable bond with women who have the same goals and aspirations, and coaches fully immersed in our success. So, it's hard to fit the love I have for this program into just a few words.
Story: It means the world to me to be part of this team. I love all the girls and I am so proud of what we were able to accomplish together.
Did you know coming into your freshman year that 1990 was the last year that the Mesa women's cross country team had won a trophy?
Kate: I had no idea that Mesa XC had never won a trophy since that time. Coming to Mesa was a last-minute decision for me, and I had no idea what I was walking into.
Anna: Coming to Mesa my freshman year, I had no idea the women's cross country program had never won a trophy. I came in with a talented group of women with big goals. They say if you shoot for the moon and miss, you still land in the stars. So, that's what we did. Coach Dan believed in us, and I did too. I knew we could be successful as long as we fully committed ourselves to this team
Story: I was unaware this school had ever won a trophy. It was really special to be able to make history with my team.
What were your expectations and goals for your first here? Did you exceed those expectations?
Kate: My initial expectation? I just wanted to be better than I was in high school. My high school PR for a 5K was 19:29 and I just wanted to beat that. I did not ever expect to run 18:37 as a freshman and get National runner-up at the NJCAA XC National Championship.
Anna: Coming into the program my first year, I had big goals and expectations. I knew I wanted to get a Top-three team finish, and since I came into the year rather out of shape and got injured quickly, my personal hopes were to heal and do the best I could for my team. Before getting injured I had very high expectations for myself, though over the season, of course, my expectations changed. With the way they changed and after the outcome of Nationals, my expectations were exceeded. I finished fourth on the team at Nationals, helping the women on the team to the third-place finish. I know if I hadn't gotten injured I could've placed higher, but alas life happens and it went how it was meant to go.
Story: When I first came here I really wanted to improve my personal performance but as the season progressed I realized how talented the team was and knew we could accomplish great things together.
Mesa has had some pretty talented runners. Do you think their success impacted the achievements you were able to have here? Did you use that as a benchmark to surpass, or did it just happen that way?
Kate: I definitely think that the past runners on the team, and the current athletes we have now made all the difference. Coach would tell us what Quin did, what Mary did, how Ellis ran, and we all wanted to beat that. It was the standard we set for ourselves to be better than last year.
Anna: I think the accomplishments of previous Mesa runners did impact the achievements I've made as an individual and as a part of the team. They helped me realize that all the previous women had been so successful, but they didn't have the team that we had both years. A group of talented women coming together cannot guarantee success, but having the talent and the drive to accomplish what the women before us had attempted plus the coaches to support it, I knew our team could be unstoppable. And not only does our team support each other through thick and thin, we even had the support of many of the previous runners themselves. Those women made me want to be the best I could be. I didn't really know of the team's previous success, I knew of individual successes, so I didn't see any benchmarks for us. But I think that was helpful for us, it felt like there were no limits as to what we could achieve. Our success didn't just fall into our hands, we worked so hard for it, and little did we know what we were truly achieving.
Story: When I first started here I only knew a few athletes.
Anything you would like to add or discuss about your two very successful years as part of the Mesa College Cross Country team?
Kate: I have never had a more supportive team. The coaches do everything in their power to help you on and off the track. They are the most understanding people and are way more than just a coach. I guarantee if I had any other team, or any other coach besides Dan, I would not have done as well as I have today. I owe all of my achievements to his support and coaching.
Anna: All I know is that I couldn't have achieved what I did individually without the support of my family, my friends, the coaches, and the women on this team who became a family. This team brought me back to life, finding joy in things as little as an easy run or an ice bath. Cross country is my favorite sport, and these two years have reignited my love for running and expanded my belief in what is possible.
Story: I would like to add a huge thank you to the coaches Daniel Pescador and Spencer Peterson for being so supportive and leading my team to victory.
It has been an amazing journey over the last two years to see what these women were able to accomplish. They have set a new standard for the Mesa Women's Cross Country program. The next step is to finally win a National Championship. That is what makes the journey so special. Kate, Anna, and Story are all continuing their athletic careers at the NCAA level. Kate and Anna will be moving on to Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Story will be moving on to Clayton State University (GA). We wish you all the very best in your future athletic endeavors!