University of Minnesota Athletics
Leading With Experience
10/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Minnesota's roster only lists eight upperclassmen this year, five of them seniors. One of those seniors, Hassan Mead, is out for the season after suffering a collapsed lung. Mead was the Minnesota's top runner last year, finishing 16th at the NCAA Championships to become the second three-time All-American in Minnesota cross country history.
McFarland acknowledges that losing Mead for the season is a big blow to the team, but says that this year's team has more depth than a year ago. He believes there are about a dozen Gophers who could step up to fill the fourth or fifth slot. McFarland may seem to have more experience than most of those younger runners combined. After graduating from Arrowhead High School in 2006, McFarland redshirted his first season at Minnesota. The next three seasons, he was a member of the Gophers' eighth, 15th, and 24th place squads at the NCAA Championships. This experience is key for the Gophers as they look to return to nationals this November.
"To have the older guys around who have been in the program for awhile is always a good thing," said Minnesota head coach Steve Plasencia. "They understand things a little bit better. I think sometimes guys in their first couple years tend to be a little bit less at ease and a little less comfortable in their situations. Mike is a fifth-year senior. He knows what's going on. He knows what to take seriously and what not to be too worried about."
McFarland agrees that experience is important.
"It definitely helps, especially early in the year," said McFarland. "You just kind of have to trust the training that Coach (Plasencia) has us on and know that he'll have us ready by regionals, nationals-know that we'll peak at the right time and be able to get back to nationals. That experience from years prior helps you think, I've already been here-I know what to expect."
As someone who has been there before, McFarland can help convey this mindset of trusting the training plan to his younger teammates who will be filling the spot left open by Mead's absence. McFarland believes that the team has already started to step up.
"We had a pretty promising performance at Griak already," he said of the team's fifth-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitation September 25. "We beat Iowa State, who we lost to the previous three years. They're always tough early in the year. To be able to beat a team like that is hopefully a good starting point."
Next weekend (Oct. 16), the Gophers will split their squad, sending some to Terre Haute, Ind., for a Pre-NCAA Meet and some to West Salem, Wis., for the Jim Drews Invitational, giving everyone one more race before the Big Ten Championships in Madison, Wis., on October 31. McFarland will play a huge role as the Gophers move into the championship portion of the season.
"I expect him to continue to provide that leadership that he does," said Plasencia. "He kind of is a quiet guy. He's more of a leader by example than he is a rah-rah-type guy. But I think he does effectively get his messages across to people. For the rest of the year I hope to see him continue that. And I think he definitely has the potential to be back on our teams that go to the regional and national meets, and hopefully be a scorer for us in those meets. He's been a scorer before at the nationals and the regionals. I'd like to see that happen again."
After the cross country season ends, McFarland will keep working on his degree in actuarial science and risk management insurance. After graduation, McFarland plans to look for a job in consulting or insurance. He also plans to keep running, including competing in road races, on his own.
"It's going to be different not having a team atmosphere," said McFarland. "I've always had a team to run with so that's going to be a little bit different feeling doing it on my own."
Running will be different for McFarland without a team, but the team will also be different next year without McFarland.
Mike is one of those guys that just shows up every day and does what he's told," said Plasencia. "He's not a guy that demands a lot of extra attention. So it's been fun to work with him. He's always been mature, even since he was young. He's a kind of a mature voice on the team. You can't have too many of those."
-By Athletic Communications Assistant Justine Buerkle
Players Mentioned
