The Garden City Telegram

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KESSINGER: Delgado is Mr. Buster

Published 10/21/2009 in Sports

As he stands in front of the audience each Monday at the Broncbuster Athletic Association luncheon, Garden City Community College cross country coach Dan Delgado always has a lot to say.

For the most part, all coaches do. But each week Delgado is there talking with a lot of passion, a lot of heart. He smiles as he speaks of his two teams and often times applauds one or more of the other athletic programs after a successful week another GCCC team has had. In a sense, Delgado is a Broncbuster through and through.

He's at most all athletic events I cover, and next to athletic director Bob Larson he's the loudest fan at the event cheering on the team. When he speaks at each BBA event his love and the passion for the college he has worked for since 1993 comes through. It's something you can see he doesn't do just as a fan, but that he puts so much into his own programs at GCCC.

You can see it through talking to his athletes. Two weeks ago I spoke to Gabriel Proctor, Palo Ponce and Zach Bainter who are apart of the Busters' No. 3-ranked men's cross country team. One of the main things each pointed to as the team's success is the training Delgado puts them through.

It may be one of the toughest routines anywhere in the country — and it works. Results are shown by the preparation put into something and good things are what have happened because of it for the GCCC cross country program. The Buster men have won four invitationals and blew away Colby when they dueled head-to-head at the start of the season.

Last year, the GCCC men came away with a third-place finish on the men's side and 12th in the women's race at the NJCAA nationals in Spartansburg, S.C. The top three placing was the best finish in the program's history.

With the top two runners back, Proctor and Muhamed Noor, who both earned All-American honors last year, the sky is the limit. All of what the Busters have accomplished this season, though, doesn't matter much to anyone within the sport if it isn't carried through to the end.

Saturday will be that first main test for the Busters' men's team when they take the starting line at the Region 6 championship at Johnson County in Overland Park. From there it's on to East Peoria, Ill. for the national meet. A year ago, it was a Region 6 title GCCC split with Cowley College that really put this program on the map.

As he stood in front of the BAA crowd Monday, after he was done smiling about his team, Delgado's true passionate game face appeared. He grimaced as he mentioned Jayhawk Conference rivals Butler, Cowley and Johnson County, each of whom the Busters will see this weekend.

You could sense his distaste (in a seriously competitive way) for each of those programs as a coach. And with that there was a sense of just how much Delgado stresses to his runners this is where it starts.

Last year, GCCC rode the momentum of a region title into nationals and finished third. This year the Busters hope to have that momentum again with a little more added to it at the end.

Assistant Sports Editor Mike Kessinger may be reached at mkessinger@gctelegram.com.

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