Friday Feature - Logan Hunt (Men's XC)

CALDWELL, Idaho - When Logan Hunt and the C of I men's cross country team arrived in Logan, Utah for the Steve Reeder Memorial, they didn't expect such harsh weather conditions.
 
"It was nuts," head coach Austin Basterrechea said. "I don't think I've seen that much rain in a while, especially in the northwest. It was muddy, it dumped rain and it was nasty in the day and in the morning."
 
But Hunt has come too far to let the weather, or any other factor, affect his confidence going into a meet against NCAA Division I programs Utah State and Weber State. On the ugly Friday afternoon on the Steve & Donna Reeder Memorial Course, Hunt was ready to hit the ground running.
 
"He's done really well with accepting where he's at physically," assistant coach Mike Anderson said. "He thinks he can run with just about anybody, but he's not overly confident. He's realistic about things, but more than anything he's going out, racing and trying to compete with people."
 
That mentality is what put the sophomore over the edge. In the field of 82 racers, Hunt ran a 7000-meter time of 21:29:7 - breaking former All-American Alex Martin's record on the same course in 2018.
 
"It was muddy and sloppy, but he ran great," Anderson said. "It's the best complete field we've ran against all year, so to go in and race like that was really exciting."
 
In addition to Hunt's first-place finish across all schools, four other Yotes finished in the top-20 to help C of I grab the upset win on the road.
 
"We spent a lot of time talking about how to get a good training block in," Basterrechea said. "In order to get consistency, we're a lot more successful with doing big aerobic efforts and they're a grind to get through. That's what we did leading up to [Utah] and I think it paid off really well."
 
With Hunt headlining C of I's first team win of the season, the Athol, Idaho native earned CCC Runner of the Week honors on Oct. 11.
But the accolades have been consistent for Hunt too. At the Central Washington Invitational in Yakima, Wash., Hunt finished first out of 60 runners in the 6-kilometer meet (19:27:50) to help C of I finish in second place out of six schools. Six days later, Hunt beat out all 64 runners in the 7000-meter meet (22:02:30) to help the team place second out of five schools at the Eastern Oregon Invitational in La Grande, Ore.
 
"Logan had a bad taste in his mouth with how last season ended," Basterrechea said. "He did well for us, but I don't think he lived up to his standard with where he wanted to be. He came into this year with a chip on his shoulder and wanted to come out with something to prove."
 
With three conference awards in three meets, the pressure is on Hunt as the CCC Championships near. The team will be going up against talented runners, but Basterrecha and Anderson have Hunt and the No. 12 Yotes in the right mindset heading into the final stretch of the season.
 
"We've preached this year the idea that 'pressure is a privilege,'" Anderson said. "There's a difference between athletes who try to run and beat somebody and those who are under distress and can think logically. Logan's biggest difference between last year and this year is that he's thinking through races and thinking about how to attack something. Logan's tearing it up and I'm excited to see what he does in the next couple weeks."
 
The Yotes conclude the regular season schedule next Saturday (Oct. 23) at the William Jessup Invitational in Rocklin, Calif. The meet is set for 10 a.m. (PT).