Courtesy Cal Athletics
All About The Team
Cross Country Senior Chris Walden Hopes Saturday's NCAA Championships Set A New Cal Foundation
This year, it’s all about the team.
California men’s cross country senior Chris Walden has had his share of ups and downs in his Golden Bear career leading up to this Saturday’s NCAA Championships in Louisville, Ky. However, one thing that he has always had going for himself was a solid individual career that saw him score as the top finisher on the team as a freshman, junior and a senior at the NCAA Regionals. The Carmel, Ind., native even earned All-America honors last season after placing 17th as an individual competitor at the NCAA Championships, the third-best individual finish in Cal men’s cross country history.
Despite that success, one thing that has alluded him his first three seasons in Berkeley was a trip as a team to the NCAA Championships.
The California men’s cross country team has qualified for nationals three times, all coming in a four-year span from 2007-2010 when the team took 16th in 2007, 22nd in 2008 and 31st in 2010. That run in 2010 is one that Walden remembers fondly, given that he was already being recruited and committed to the Golden Bears at that point. He even made it to Terre Haute, Ind., to watch that year’s championships, getting a glimpse at his future teammates in action on the country’s highest stage.
The next season when he joined the team in Berkeley, the Bears did not make the return trip to nationals. The same thing happened in 2012, and then again in 2013. Walden made it as an individual in 2014, but the senior has finally led the team back to top of the summit.
“It’s been four years,” Walden said retrospectively about the break since the last visit to nationals. “Every year we say we want to make it back, but with injuries or whatever else, it hasn’t been able to quite come together. We sure have given up a lot. It means a lot. I think we’re ready to go in and have our best race of the year. I believe the highest finish in school history for the men is 16th. I think if we run our best, we can beat that.”
Their best has been pretty well so far under Walden’s leadership. While grooming runners like Thomas Joyce and John Lawson, the Golden Bears have four top three finishes on the seasons, winning the USF Invitational and getting third at the Roy Griak, Sacramento State Jamboree and Bronco Invitational.
Walden sees the results as something that hints towards a bright showing for the Bears not only this weekend, but in years to follow. More than anything, he welcomes the change in makeup and sees his cross country curtain call as a way to establish California as a team after the last three years establishing himself as an individual.
“Last year I was kind of doing my own thing,” Walden said of a season that saw him lead the team in every race en route to his All-American honors individually. “Most races I was in front of our second man by over one minute every time. Now our fifth man is within 30 seconds of me every time. It’s definitely been a lot more team oriented. It’s one unit, one team. We’re a unit and in this together. I’ve done the individual stuff for track; this is my last chance to be a part of a team. I’ve really taken to that and try to bring all of them along.”
Teams have always been an important thing to Walden. Growing up, he played basketball and baseball before joining Chuck Koeppen’s cross country team at Carmel High School to stay in shape. Seeing Koeppen’s passion for the sport while being a member of the storied, tradition-heavy Carmel cross country program helped Walden realize that his future was in running.
That realization led Walden to eventually move across the country to Berkeley to join the program at Cal. During his recruitment, the Bears remained a national player, and while Cal went through its four-year stretch without a return to the final weekend, the senior values the rebuilding process that he and his teammates went through.
“It’s definitely been a struggle,” Walden said of his Golden Bear career. “It’s been fun and I’ve enjoyed the process. I don’t think anyone comes here without a bit of struggle here and there. Coach Sandoval says where there is struggle, there is growth. It’s been a hard road, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. It’s been a fun ride, and I’m ready to give it everything I’ve got for this last one.”
The last one is this at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park, site of the earlier Pre-National Invitational that allowed the Bears a chance to compete against some of the top teams in the country. And while Walden would love to improve upon his 17th-place individual finish last year and make a run at Tom Downs’s program-best finish of 13th at the 1981 championships, Walden’s focus this weekend rests solely on what he can do for the team.
“Last year I was 17th at the national final but I was there as an individual,” Walden said. “This year is completely opposite. I don’t have any individual aspirations. It’s all about being there for my teammates and building a foundation. I’m the only one with experience in this race, so my focus is leading them. It’s always good to have an All-American finish, so I’d like to at least have that. The best way that I can help my team is scoring the lowest point that I can.”
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California competes Saturday at the NCAA Championships with the men’s race scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET at Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky. The Championships will be streamed live online.
California men’s cross country senior Chris Walden has had his share of ups and downs in his Golden Bear career leading up to this Saturday’s NCAA Championships in Louisville, Ky. However, one thing that he has always had going for himself was a solid individual career that saw him score as the top finisher on the team as a freshman, junior and a senior at the NCAA Regionals. The Carmel, Ind., native even earned All-America honors last season after placing 17th as an individual competitor at the NCAA Championships, the third-best individual finish in Cal men’s cross country history.
Despite that success, one thing that has alluded him his first three seasons in Berkeley was a trip as a team to the NCAA Championships.
The California men’s cross country team has qualified for nationals three times, all coming in a four-year span from 2007-2010 when the team took 16th in 2007, 22nd in 2008 and 31st in 2010. That run in 2010 is one that Walden remembers fondly, given that he was already being recruited and committed to the Golden Bears at that point. He even made it to Terre Haute, Ind., to watch that year’s championships, getting a glimpse at his future teammates in action on the country’s highest stage.
The next season when he joined the team in Berkeley, the Bears did not make the return trip to nationals. The same thing happened in 2012, and then again in 2013. Walden made it as an individual in 2014, but the senior has finally led the team back to top of the summit.
“It’s been four years,” Walden said retrospectively about the break since the last visit to nationals. “Every year we say we want to make it back, but with injuries or whatever else, it hasn’t been able to quite come together. We sure have given up a lot. It means a lot. I think we’re ready to go in and have our best race of the year. I believe the highest finish in school history for the men is 16th. I think if we run our best, we can beat that.”
Their best has been pretty well so far under Walden’s leadership. While grooming runners like Thomas Joyce and John Lawson, the Golden Bears have four top three finishes on the seasons, winning the USF Invitational and getting third at the Roy Griak, Sacramento State Jamboree and Bronco Invitational.
Walden sees the results as something that hints towards a bright showing for the Bears not only this weekend, but in years to follow. More than anything, he welcomes the change in makeup and sees his cross country curtain call as a way to establish California as a team after the last three years establishing himself as an individual.
“Last year I was kind of doing my own thing,” Walden said of a season that saw him lead the team in every race en route to his All-American honors individually. “Most races I was in front of our second man by over one minute every time. Now our fifth man is within 30 seconds of me every time. It’s definitely been a lot more team oriented. It’s one unit, one team. We’re a unit and in this together. I’ve done the individual stuff for track; this is my last chance to be a part of a team. I’ve really taken to that and try to bring all of them along.”
Teams have always been an important thing to Walden. Growing up, he played basketball and baseball before joining Chuck Koeppen’s cross country team at Carmel High School to stay in shape. Seeing Koeppen’s passion for the sport while being a member of the storied, tradition-heavy Carmel cross country program helped Walden realize that his future was in running.
That realization led Walden to eventually move across the country to Berkeley to join the program at Cal. During his recruitment, the Bears remained a national player, and while Cal went through its four-year stretch without a return to the final weekend, the senior values the rebuilding process that he and his teammates went through.
“It’s definitely been a struggle,” Walden said of his Golden Bear career. “It’s been fun and I’ve enjoyed the process. I don’t think anyone comes here without a bit of struggle here and there. Coach Sandoval says where there is struggle, there is growth. It’s been a hard road, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. It’s been a fun ride, and I’m ready to give it everything I’ve got for this last one.”
The last one is this at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park, site of the earlier Pre-National Invitational that allowed the Bears a chance to compete against some of the top teams in the country. And while Walden would love to improve upon his 17th-place individual finish last year and make a run at Tom Downs’s program-best finish of 13th at the 1981 championships, Walden’s focus this weekend rests solely on what he can do for the team.
“Last year I was 17th at the national final but I was there as an individual,” Walden said. “This year is completely opposite. I don’t have any individual aspirations. It’s all about being there for my teammates and building a foundation. I’m the only one with experience in this race, so my focus is leading them. It’s always good to have an All-American finish, so I’d like to at least have that. The best way that I can help my team is scoring the lowest point that I can.”
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California competes Saturday at the NCAA Championships with the men’s race scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET at Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky. The Championships will be streamed live online.
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