Cross Country Season Preview and Meet Recap
Photo by Maddie Vacula
The 2022 revamped cross country team, led by Spring 2022 hire Coach Joseph Moses Jr., opened September 9 at the Texas A&M Texarkana University Collegiate XC Invitational after a 7-year hiatus. The last time Centenary saw a cross country team was in 2015. Two freshmen boys, Connor Irvin and Nehemiah Brown, and one sophomore girl, Maddie Vacula, competed against teams from Cisco College, Henderson State University (women only), Jacksonville College, Philander Smith College, Texas A&M University-Texarkana, and North Central Texas College.
The team was unable to attend the Mississippi College Opener on September 2 due to water problems in Jackson, Mississippi. As unfortunate as this setback was, the team was excited to debut the freshly reinstituted program.
Freshman Connor Irvin placed 14th out of 35 competitors with a 5k time of 18:03.2. Irvin comes to Centenary from Southside High School in Youngsville, Louisiana. He was a district champion and state qualifier for 5A Louisiana Cross Country. He is also a member of the Centenary men’s volleyball team and plans to run track in the Spring.
Freshman Nehemiah Brown placed 35th in a 5k time of 27:54.8. He is a Shreveport native, and this will be his first ever season.
Maddie Vacula placed 3rd out of 36 competitors with a 5k time of 21:15.0. She’s from Belton, Texas, and this is her first ever cross country season. She competed for the Ladies' track team Spring of 2022 and is a member of the Centenary swim team.
Originally from Baton Rouge, Coach Joseph Moses Jr. is a highly successful individual. He competed as a member of the LSU Tigers track team and was a member of winning national championship teams in 1988 and ’89 and graduated in 1994. He coached at Independence Community College in Independence, Kansas from 2000-2001; Charleston Southern University from 2001-2003; and Xavier University from 2004-2018 where he was named Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year 12 times. He moved to Simpson University in Redding, California, eventually making his way back to Louisiana to be the head coach of the Centenary track and field and cross country teams for both the Ladies and the Gents. He has led many student-athletes to all-conference titles and holds the same aspirations for his career here at Centenary.
With most high school seniors committed back in the Spring when Coach Moses was hired, the team had a lot riding against it in terms of growth. Currently, neither Nehemiah nor Maddie have run cross country before. Every practice and meet is a new experience for the student-athletes, but they are excited to work hard and see improvement. Connor is eager to start a new chapter in his athletic career competing at the collegiate level. The whole team is excited to establish a strong team culture and reputation for Centenary cross country, and now that Coach Moses is able to get a better feel of Centenary’s campus and athletic program, he plans to hit the ground running with recruiting and building a program to have lasting success.
The remainder of the cross country season will take place in October as the Lady and Gents compete at the ETBU Tiger Invitational in Marshall, Texas on October 14 and at the SCAC Championships in Georgetown, Texas on October 29.
