UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Cross Country team is back in business as the men and women prepare themselves for this upcoming season. Head coach John Gondak and assistant coach Angela Reckart met with the media for fall sports media day last week, showing off the excitement that has been building up all summer for the competition to begin.
Here are some takeaways from media day as the team gets ready to take on 2019:
Continuing Success
The women's squad has won three of the last four NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, and they will start off this season once again ranked number one in the region with goal of the NCAA championships.
"Our women are led by five outstanding athletes who have been mainstays of this program for the last many years which makes us excited about their fitness and how things look right now," Gondak said.
As the team continues to grow, many of the underclassmen are fighting to receive a spot in the top seven to support the top five scoring runners. Spots six and seven help provide depth for the team during the more competitive meets.
"The key thing for our women's team this year is who is going to step up to be number six and seven. It is going to be interesting to see who will help get our fifth qualification to the NCAA finals," Gondak said.
Depth on the Men's Side
With the men's program, Gondak believes that they have a special group of athletes. There is a lot of potential and strong competitors that will come out of this group. He believes that there is depth, which only helps the overall competition all season.
"What we have seen from the men so far is the best start to practice that I could have asked for. The bulk of our team is sophomore and juniors, so they have been through it and understand it," Gondak said.
With a group that's been through this experience before, Gondak is confident the team can improve on expectations.
"We start the season being ranked sixth in the region but I told them yesterday after practice that they are going to surprise a lot of people," he said.
Home Meet Provides Exposure
Early in the season Penn State will host the Spiked Shoe Invitational on September 13th. This meet has been hosted in Happy Valley for many years and a time when college and high school athletes compete. The setting of the Nittany Lions' home course is a huge recruiting tool which is why Gondak encourages younger athletes to come out and run.
"I think that more than not, once kids come and see the atmosphere of this school during our meets, they will most likely come back for an official visit. I am excited to see what we can do over the next couple of weeks," Gondak said.
This meet also gives all of Penn State's runners a chance to compete on their home course.
"When we do host, everybody on the roster is allowed to run. The athletes are not just practicing to earn their spots, they can go out there and race and earn their way," Gondak said.
On top of the Spiked Shoe, Penn State will also host the National Open on October 18th at the Blue and White Courses.
Strong Summer Training
As Reckart began to give her take on the team this year, she emphasized the way she trains these athletes, adding it is important to understand the feel of each workout and how the athletes respond to them.
"We have a great variety of trails to train on here and to help prepare the athletes that need to practice on hills and uneven surfaces," Reckart said.
It is important to Reckart that her athletes do not peak too early in the season and to build a base that will help them compete through the end of cross country in November and into the indoor track and field months.
"We really know how our women respond to training and it is important to watch our athletes by keeping their strength up through longer workouts," Reckart said.
Reckart feels that when the entire team is bought into each workout, it will end successfully. This sport is a huge mental game and when they have the mindset of a winner, they will practice and compete like one.
"It is important to get them excited about the type of training that we are doing. I think for the most part our men and women are eager to practice which shows the coaches that this is going to be a great fall," Reckart said.
Penn State will kick off its season in Lock Haven at the Dolan Duals this Saturday September 6th at 6 p.m.
