UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-- As the starting gun went off to the Spiked Shoe Invitational on Friday, senior captain Kathryn Munks immediately broke away from the pack. As time went on, Munks began to further her distance with the other athletes helping herself finish 11 seconds in front of the second finisher.
This first place finish, with a time of 20:42, showed the dedication and work ethic that Munks has been building throughout the entire summer. With the help of her daily workouts, meal diets and mental training, she was able to start off this season in the right mind set setting the mark for the rest of her year.
"I had a great summer with my training by doing a lot of mileage and by hitting great workouts. It was great to be able to pack up with the team and get back on track for the season," Munks said.
Senior Alison Willingmyre had a similar mindset coming into this meet and showed her determination by coming in third with a time of 21:03. She had a breakthrough season last year and is hoping to outrun her top times as she grows throughout each meet.
"For this first meet, it is just a matter of coming out here and having fun. We did not really taper anything down, we just kind of trained through this. We used this meet as a fun, professional workout. It was just typical training," Willingmyre said.
Having an early season meet in University Park helped the team gain confidence. Every athlete knows how to strategically run this route in Happy Valley, which gives them an advantage on race day.
"This is our course and it is our job to race well here," Munks said. "This is where we train and this is where we are supposed to show everyone our improvement. We are supposed to perform well here."
"Whether there is a person right behind me or not I'm always trying to push myself," she added. "I try to imagine that there is a person right next to me the entire race. Most of the time I try to race myself because I always want to improve whether it's a time or being the best me that I can be."
While Munks and Willingmyre ran strong times, they were also able to push and support their teammates on the familiar course, and it paid off during the morning.
This was especially true for freshman Megan Ciasullo, who was able to have the second strong race of her young career on her home course. Coming off a 3rd place finish on a short course at the Dolan Duals in Lock Haven September 6, she was able to bring home a top-20 performance at the larger meet on her home course.
"For the freshmen we tell them to get in the mix because you are never too young to get out and lead the race. They just need to be fearless," Munks said.
Willingmyre emphasized how important it is to keep all of her younger teammates calm. By doing this, she helps her team grow as a family on and off the course.
"A lot of helping out the underclassmen comes from keeping their nerves down and mentoring them in a way that they have confidence going into the race. We want them to know that they are not the youngest piece of the team but they are a vital part of the team," Willingmyre said.
Munks added that practice in leadership was something she took away as well.
"I've tried to lead by example because I am not very vocal. I just show them through action and by leading the things that we should do as a team. This starts with me performing well in meets and that is exactly what I was able to do today," she said.
Whether it has to do leadership or times, every athlete was able to learn something from competing this past weekend and set their goals for moving forward.
"I am using this meet as confidence and as a way to move forward. I want to know what I did well and what I can improve on. I know that this meet is just the start to a long, hardworking season," Willingmyre said.
That season will take a break next week before the Nittany Lions head out of state for the first time this year to the Ohio State Invitational on September 28th in Columbus, Ohio.
