Queen’s cross country athletes are looking for a fast start as they prepare to ramp up for the fall schedule.
Both the men’s and women’s team are coming off a stellar season that saw the men’s team winning four out of five meets, and the women’s team reaching the podium in three of five. The season was highlighted by both teams capturing their respective OUA championship gold, with the men’s team also winning the USports National Championship.
The Journal spoke with head coach Mark Bomba to get a head start for the upcoming season. Bomba explained that most of his athletes are “just getting back into the swing of things” after some downtime from summer season.
“Officially we can’t start our training camp until a week before school starts, but I’m in contact with all my athletes,” Bomba said. “We had a team meeting last month, just guiding everyone, especially the first years.”
The team will look a little different this year, with stars Jude Wheeler-Dee, ConEd ’26, and Roman Mironov, Comm ’26, both graduating from the program. Bomba acknowledges this fact, saying he has told his team that “there is no calvary to save the day anymore, we’re going to need people to step up if we want to be on the podium again.”
Despite the player losses, Bomba is confident that both teams’ leadership and team dynamics will not be affected.
“We have our non-negotiables: paying attention to the process, setting high expectations, being accountable, and being a good teammate,” stated Bomba. “It’s not fancy, but we rinse and repeat.”
Bomba, going into his sixth year as coach at Queens, has noticed a progression — particularly on the women’s side.
“We’ve seen our woman’s team come from tenth at nationals, to being a contender for the podium,” Bomba said. “This may be the first time our women’s team finishes higher than our men’s team at nationals and I think both teams can be on the podium.”
Coach Bomba’s athletes to look out for this year, on the men’s side, include the obvious Angus Skinner, ConEd ’28, Owen Danby, ArtSci ’28, and Saul Taler, Kin ’29. On the women’s side, Caleigh Pribaz, Kin ’27, Elizabeth Vroom, Sci ’27, and Leah Richter, ArtSci ’30.
While the official schedule has not been released yet, if you’re in Kingston, you’re sure to get a sneak peak of the team training all around the city in the coming weeks.
Tags
cross country, fall season, Training
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