XC Ready for USCAA Championships
The Penn State Fayette Cross Country team is finalizing its training regimen as the Nittany Lions will take part in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Cross Country National Championships Friday in Virginia Beach, VA.
Head coach Joe Carei is excited at the opportunity and he has goals for both the men's and women's teams, which both fared well at the most recent USCAA championships in 2019. The men finished 3rd and the women finished 13th.
"We want to finish in the top three for each team," he said. "It looks pretty solid for the women, if we stay healthy. The men, we need to step up a little to insure this will happen. We are looking to have at least one man and one woman get All-American (top 14), which would be a first (for the program of) having one of each. It'll be nice to bring hardware home for both teams, they deserve it. So we will try our best to make sure that happens."
Carei pointed out Mitch Minda (Elizabeth, PA/Elizabeth Forward HS) and Nicole Walker (West Mifflin, PA/West Mifflin HS).
"Mitch and Nicole, who were both named last week's National Runners of the Week, have a legitimate shot (at All-American)," he said. "While on the women's side Josie (Pindro) and Kelsey (Wilkins) are on the bubble. Joe (O'Connell) and Drew (Erdman) can get in with a really good run."
If Minda and Walker both reach All-American, and if Pindro (Hopwood, PA/Geibel Catholic) and Wilkins (Monaca, PA/Central Valley HS) on the women's side, and O'Connell (West Mifflin, PA/West Mifflin HS) and Erdman (Greensburg, PA/Greensburg Salem HS) on the men's side, can all run well enough, a top three finish for both teams is definitely possible.
Carei is happy with how preparation has been going.
"Training has been great," he said. "This is the first year we didn't have to make any adjustments to our workouts. We have been for the most part healthy and the team is great about doing the workouts especially independently, when needed. Although our numbers are down, this has been our best training team ever. They work together, make sure everyone is accounted for and enjoy each other's company. It makes a coach's job easy, for sure. Our young guys have come along well, because of that. Chloe (Kalp) does everything we ask, and if anyone falls off, Haley and Mitch get them back on track."
The women's 6K race begins at 10:00 a.m. Friday while the men's 8K race begins at 11:00 a.m.
For more on the USCAA Cross-Country championships, go to https://uscaafallchampionships.com/landing/index.
For more on the Cross-Country team, go to https://www.psfathletics.com/sports/xc/index or follow us on Instagram @fayetteathletics.