In the blink of an eye, the 2020 Cyclone men's cross country season was over, but not without the coveted Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference championship as the finale.
There was some doubt as to whether the Cyclones would be able to compete with other colleges and universities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the Cyclones' normally full schedule dwindled to three meets in Illinois, the last one being the conference championship they hosted on campus on Oct. 24.
"I'm thankful we were able to have a season this year even if it wasn't in the way we are used to. The year 2020 will be remembered as the year of change. Despite the limitations put on us, I'd call it a successful season," said Head Coach Dimitri Dimizas, who ended his fifth season running the program. He was joined this year by Assistant Coach Aaron Roe.
"Having a new assistant coach will always bring some challenges at first, but I feel Aaron and I worked well together. I'm fortunate he was able to step in and help me out," Dimizas added.
This group of primarily freshmen took third place in the first two races before bringing home the championship. The Cyclones made history at the conference meet when freshman Jackson Sima and sophomore Carlos Galvan finished 1-2, the first runners to do so in the men's or women's program. Sima earned individual champion-Most Valuable Runner, only the fourth Cyclone to earn the honor. Freshmen Jimmy Duffy and Nick Tsiones also finished that race in eighth and 10th place, respectively, for All-Conference honors. Duffy ran a personal best. The last time the men won a Skyway championship and had four All-Conference runners was in 2016. Also contributing to the championship were freshmen Adael Jaimes-Sotelo, Juan Ramos and Sebastian Szuba.
"Our men had a season to remember. With only one returner and so many unknowns, I didn't know what to expect going into it. Carlos was someone I relied on to show the new guys what they needed to do thanks to his tremendous work ethic and knowledge. This season was redemption for him, and I was so happy to see him race well at conference. I'm going to miss him, but I'm really excited to see what new levels he reaches with his running in the future," Dimizas said. "Out of the first-year runners, Jackson was the one I knew the most about and who I expected to lead the way. He did not disappoint, and his conference win gives him the opportunity to join elite company in terms of Moraine Valley's greatest runners if he continues to work hard going into next season.
"One of our biggest strengths this year was having people who wanted to compete and that was shown best in the meets where we never knew who would finish in our top five. The order was always different. Juan, Nick, Jimmy, Szuba and AJ all enjoyed racing, and if they are all able to come back next year that will be a very nice core to build a team around," Dimizas added.