In a recent interview, cross country and track runner Idol Ramon claimed that out of his four years at UTSA, this is “by far the strongest we’ve looked this early on in the season.” Extremely confident in this year’s roster, Ramon offered nothing but praise for both his teammates and coaches heading into the 2023 season. With such great confidence in his team, it seems as if the Roadrunners are bound to have a dominant run this year. 

With the Roadrunners finishing up their first meet this past Saturday, expectations for the team have been extremely high. Coming off of a phenomenal 2022 season, many analysts predict the Roadrunners will finish even higher in the 2023 rankings. Though projected to finish high, some doubters have voiced concerns over whether or not the team can still perform in the new American Athletic Conference. Concerning the larger league, some fans even wonder if the Roadrunners will place in the top 10 rankings.

 Despite moving into a new conference this year, Ramon insisted that the move only added to the drive of wanting to do better. 

“We don’t want to be left behind,” Ramon claimed. “As a whole, we’re just pushing each other more.”

The “we over me” mentality has played a huge role in this year’s roster. While there has been team success in previous years, many of those years have always seemed to feel more about the individual rather than the team. Ramon seemed to feel the exact same way, proclaiming that “Last year was kind of more individual, and this year is more of a team.” 

“They really want it this year compared to the other years,” Ramon said. “It just has not felt as strong as it is this year.”

The overall team mentality has certainly done wonders for the ‘Runners this year, and will undoubtedly play a huge role in how the season will turn out. This season, fans can expect a more well-rounded team as there are no more individual egos to plague the overall success. 

All UTSA fans should be looking forward to watching the Roadrunners cross country team in 2023, and Ramon himself claimed that he is extremely excited to see what the year has in store for his team. Though nothing is fully guaranteed, the UTSA men’s cross country team is poised to have their best season in university history.