This Saturday, the Rowan women’s cross country team will be hosting and competing in the seventh annual Border Battle at the DREAM Park in Logan Township, New Jersey. 

This inter-regional event will feature four total races, two of which will have Head Coach Derick “Ringo” Adamson’s squad in the running. They will start out with the 6k Women’s Championship Race before wrapping things up with the 6k Women’s Open Race.

Unfortunately, the pandemic greatly reduced the pool of teams that could come and participate.

“We used to have teams from out of state from places like Georgia, Texas, and even Wisconsin,” Coach Adamson said. “We were even trying to get a Division I race at some point. However, having D1 races could thin out the D3 racer pool, so we will have to work those details out in the future.”

In regards to preparing for this event, provisions have been rather extensive. Coach Adamson and his crew have already established a starting line that extends over 200 meters long, and that is just the tip of the iceberg for their setup.

“We are expecting thousands of people to come out and watch these races, so we made sure to have the track be super spectator friendly,” Coach Adamson said. “The local Chrysler dealership has already agreed to deliver Jeeps and other cars to help with transporting equipment. We are also looking to build a top deck over the finish line for announcing, as well as have a big screen in the same area for spectators to see the athletes’ names and times.”

On the racing side of things, runner Lindsey Hofschneider, a junior, is certainly eager for Saturday’s festivities while also remaining confident in her team’s abilities to perform under pressure.

“I’m excited for the upcoming races,” Hofschneider said. “We’ve only been getting stronger and I’m excited to see how all of the work we’ve been putting in is going to pay off. The most challenging thing will likely be all having a great day on the same day but I’m confident in our training and our team, and if we just try to stick together in our races, I have no doubt we’ll be successful.”

The Border Battle will be a true test for this cross country squad with conference and national championship aspirations. In order to reach that pinnacle of success, making some noise this Saturday will be the first major step forward towards accomplishing those goals.

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