Cross Country

Attitude, funding the keys to Grizzlies' title dominance

By Dave Reed
Special to ESPN.com

Adams State College is located 7,544 feet above sea level in Alamosa, Colo., nestled between the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountains and a little more than 20 miles from the New Mexico border.

It seems appropriate that a program that aspires to be at the top of the Division II cross country standings would call the Rocky Mountains its home. Since the men's program began in 1967 and the women came on board in 1981, the Grizzlies have consistently enjoyed the view from the top.  

ASC has won a staggering 31 national team titles, 17 for the men and 14 for the women. Since the Grizzlies joined the NCAA in 1992, the women's team has won 12 of 15 championships, including the past four.

But make no mistake, the Grizzlies' success is the product of attitude, not altitude.

"Adams State really appreciates cross country and has funded the programs at a level which allows us to be successful," said coach Damon Martin, who came to Alamosa as a graduate assistant in 1985. "Here, it's almost a disappointment when you don't win a national title."

The ASC tradition was started by legendary Dr. Joe I. Vigil, and while Vigil was coaching the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Martin was named interim coach and led the men's team to its sixth consecutive NAIA championship. A year later, Martin was named coach of the women's team, and he has been at Adams State ever since.

"Coach Vigil has been such a great mentor, and I'm so proud of his accomplishments," said Martin, who took over the men's program in 1996. "It was a fantastic opportunity to coach alongside him."

The Adams State cross country programs have produced an astounding 261 All-Americans and 15 individual national champions. Credentials like that put ASC at the top of the list for many recruits.

"I went to the Adams State cross country camp in high school, and I was impressed by the program's tradition and Coach Martin," said senior Tanya Gaurmer, a two-time All-American. "Even when I was a sophomore and junior in high school, I wanted to go to Adams State."

Gaurmer and classmate Brittany Somers will look to join what is becoming the not-so-exclusive list of Grizzlies who have been a member of four national championship teams. And with six of seven runners who competed at the 2006 NCAA Division II championship returning, Adams State will be one of the favorites to win the women's team title again this year.

"I've never known anything other than to try to win national titles," Gaurmer said. "It's become such habit. We never doubted ourselves or our ability to do it."

The men's team has not won the national championship since 2003, but it is coming off a second-place finish at last year's championship meet in Pensacola, Fla. With two All-Americans among the three returning runners, the Grizzlies have the foundation to make another run at a team title.

"I'm really excited about our team this season," said sophomore Aaron Braun, the 2006 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. "A lot of people will look at us and say we lost four seniors and this year will be a rebuilding year.

"It's going to be a dogfight for the national championship, and that's going to be our No. 1 goal -- win in late November, which we haven't done since 2003. And that's too long of a wait for Adams State."

One of the biggest obstacles to another title for both programs will be ASC's biggest rival, Western State College of Gunnison, Colo. The Grizzlies will have a good idea of how they stack up at the national level after facing the Mountaineers four times before the Division II championships Nov. 17 in Joplin, Mo.

"They put up a great challenge for us and we put up a great challenge for them," Braun said. "By the time we get to nationals, we've seen them so many times we know what to expect from each other and I don't think we're nervous about the level of competition."

Last year, the Adams State men finished one place better than Western State at the RMAC championship, the Division II North Central Regional and the Division II national championship.

The women alternated victories, with the Grizzlies claiming the conference title and WSC taking the regional. Adams State took the ultimate prize and bragging rights with a seven-point win over the Mountaineers at the Division II championship.

"That was the most emotional title I have ever been a part of," Gaurmer said. "When we actually won, that was the most amazing feeling.

"The rivalry definitely motivates you to run for something bigger than yourself. I don't ever want to lose to them, but at the same time, it's fun to compete against them."

Having a conference rival just a little more than two hours away is not unique. But competing against a top-ranked rival five or more times in a season adds a level of intensity few student-athletes get to experience.

"People that don't have those types of rivalries are missing out on something special," Martin said. "Those rivalries bring out the very best in opponents. We've been able to rise to the occasion so many times because we know that our competition is just over the hill."

That type of competitive environment, the program's history and an opportunity to win national championships are what draw runners to Adams State. And it doesn't hurt that in Alamosa, runners enjoy the spotlight that often is reserved for football and basketball players at other schools.

"It's nice that the community knows who we are and what we're doing," Braun said. "So we want to bring back national championships to them. We're not really rock stars, but people know us."

Dave Reed has covered college volleyball for national publications since 1996.