Hokie ClubCross country season gets underway on Friday evening, andthe men’s team, in particular, looks set to have a strong season. Here’s whatteam members Will Mulherin and Ryan Witt had to say in advance of the team’sfirst meet.
Q: You had a strong showing at the ACC cross countrychampionships last year, but you had an even better performance on the trackwith an ACC title in the 5,000 meters. How do you plan on translating thatsuccess from the track to the cross country course?
A: I feel that my success last year on the track gave me alot of confidence. At the beginning of the year, I was a freshman coming into astrong ACC conference, but throughout the year, I challenged myself to improve.By the time of outdoor ACCs, I was in better shape than I thought I would everbe, so I decided to go for the win. After that race, I felt I could do anythingthat I set my mind to, and from then on, I have tried to live by thatmindset. So I think that if I keepthat up, I can continue my success to cross country.
Q: Coach Thomas always talks to about running in a pack withsmall time gaps between the No.1 guy and the No. 5 guy. What makes that such agood strategy and is it hard to execute?
A: Well, that's THE cross country strategy. If your team finishes in a pack, thenall you have to do is get everyone faster. It's hard to do because you need five really good guys, andin such a competitive conference, that's pretty hard to do.
Q: The women's team has gotten attention over the past fewyears with its team showing at NCAAs in 2006, and Tasmin Fanning’s highfinishes in 2007 and 2008. Do you feel like the men's team is ready to grabsome headlines this year and why?
A: I think the women's team has received a lot of muchdeserved attention over the past few years as a team and with Tasmin as anindividual. But now, the men's team is set up for the success that the womenhave experienced in the past. We have some really talented runners who havedone well up front, including seniors Paul LaPenna and Devin Cornwall, andsophomores Will Mulherin and Michael Hammond. All of these individuals haveproven themselves in the past and I think they are ready to grab someheadlines. I don't know if people realize the potential we have this year, so Ithink we might surprise them with a good run at an ACC title, and we have avery legitimate shot to make it to nationals as a team. I think all thereturnees are prepared for what this season has to offer. I think that EddieJudge, Matt Kroetch, Brian Welch and myself will combine with the others tocreate a deadly top 7 and we should turn some heads this year.
Q: You and Eddie Judge have been successful as middledistance runners on the track. Is it hard to try to translate that success tothe cross country course and why/why not?
A: Eddie and I have been successful on the track largelybecause of our base that is built
with longer runs and endurance work from the cross countryseason. Personally, I dropped down to the 800 meters for a lot of the seasonand that is a far cry from the 10K that I will be running at NCAA regionals andnationals. But in track, I had to have the endurance to run in several roundson back-to-back days. So I feel like we can translate well as long as we havethe right mindset. I might like being on the track better, but that doesn'tstop me from being a great cross country runner. Also, the weekly mileage isn'tall that different from track to cross country. The difference is that we doless speed work in cross country and we do more hills.