Flagler women's cross country coach Christy Calderon-Castelli took a lot away from her team's performance this season, its first in the Peach Belt Conference. She hopes her direction going forward will help the team perform even better come next fall.

“It was a real learning year for me,” said Castelli. The third-year coach, who was twice named the Independent Collegiate Athletics Association's Coach of the Year, plans to intensify her team's conditioning over the offseason.

“I think in the past I've set my practices for the middle of the pack. Now, I think I need to be more competitive and ramp it up for the top of the pack,” said Castelli.

Castelli has mapped out two races, the Matanzas 5000 and the Gate River Run, to keep her girls conditioned throughout the spring.

“We have a good core group of runners that are really competitive,” said Castelli.

During the fall, the Saints didn't compete much against Peach Belt teams, but were able to do so during the conference championships in Lumberton, N.C., in October.

“We liked the Peach Belt Conference,” said Castelli. Due to budget constraints, the women's team wasn't sure if they could travel more. But in the future, Castelli wants her girls to have more exposure.

“We're hoping next year to set our season a little bit further north so we can get exposed to them a little more.”

As the offseason rolls along, Castelli will be focused on three things.

“We'll do more strength training, more conditioning and a little more cross training,” said Castelli.

The aforementioned Matanzas 5000 and Gate River Run will be two runs that focus on cross training, according to Castelli.

When asked on how her team could improve, Castelli was clear.

“It takes a lot of dedication and hard work. I know they can do better and we're going to work for that next season,” said Castelli.

Postseason Accolades

Six women's cross country runners were selected to the Peach Belt Conference All-Academic Team this fall.

Laura McKnight, a sophomore, was selected to the first-team after averaging a 3.90 grade point average while majoring in history/pre-law.

April Robinson was also selected to the first-team maintaining a perfect 4.00 GPA while majoring in elementary education.

Being selected to the second-team was Madeleine Wagner. She posted a 3.90 GPA majoring in art education.

Rounding out the third-team selections for Flagler were Caroline Young, Jennifer Griner and Christa Lamond. Young had a 3.22 GPA while majoring in English.

Griner and Lamond were both sophomore graphic design majors. Griner had a 3.57 GPA while Lamond posted a 3.43 mark.