Will Cather XC Journal #1

 Will Cather from State College High School out of District 6 AAA is a 4 time state medalist with even higher hopes for this season. He's gotten into some great races and has PRs of 4:22 and 1:55 on the track. I had a great time reading his Journal and I hope all of you do as well. Look for him and a pack of Maroon jerseys close behind him this season!

1. Talk a little bit about your outdoor track season. Did you feel it was successful? And what did you take out of it?
   Overall, my outdoor track season was somewhat of a disappointment in my opinion. My season started off extremely well, when I ran a 4:22 mile in our dual meet against Chambersburg. That meet had me very excited and striving for some huge goals for myself, as well as our 4x800 meter relay team. Our goal was a state championship in that relay and we had the runners to pull it off. We had five guys break two minutes in the 800 last season (Kyle Adams 1:57 open, Chris Golembeski 1:59.9 open, Sam Bollinger 1:57 leadoff leg, Connor Stashko having a nine second PR at one meet by dropping a 1:57.7 split, and myself at a 1:54 relay split). My teammates continued to impress me throughout the season, with PR after PR. One guy I would like to recognize especially was our lone senior on the relay, Sam Bollinger, who had not run track since junior high (fun fact: Tony Russell was also on our junior high team). Sam ultimately decided to focus on soccer in high school and had not run track until his senior year, when I convinced him to give it one last try. I, along with our entire team, wish him the best as he looks to try and walk onto the Penn State track team his freshman or sophomore season. Unfortunately, I had a nagging shin injury that worsened throughout the season. Eventually, it got to the point at districts, where I felt it crack in the mile, and struggled to finish the race. It turns out I was running on a very serious tibial stress fracture. Ultimately, because of my injury, I was only able to run the 4x800 at states and we were hurting as a team. Kyle Adams suffered a serious foot injury and Sam had suffered a bad knee injury. The three of us could not practice most of the week before states. My first run after districts was the warm up before the prelims of the 4x800. We still finished 7th as a team in the 4x800, which was a huge disappointment for all of us. We wanted that state gold medal and we were all crushed with our final result. From this, I learned that every team has suffered setbacks. Our team also learned it’s not about dwelling on the past. What’s done is done. All teams go through tough times but the best teams can pick themselves up and learn from these experiences.

2. How has your summer been going in terms of running? Has training been steady? What was the most memorable or fun run you had this summer?

     After states, I took four weeks off, in order for my injury to heal. I was very lucky it did not take any longer, especially since my doctor told me that it could have taken up to three months for it to heal. Once I was off and running again, my summer training started with around 35-40 miles per week and we worked our way up to about 50, before the start of two a days. We are now running approximately 55-60 miles per week and we are feeling very good with where we are at. We ran as a team for our summer runs, so there were a lot of fun runs we had together. If I had to pick one, it would be the time we got lost in the Greenbriar woods and split our group up, to see who would get back home faster. My team ended up losing the challenge. 

Will Cather (Red shorts) and his teammates Rolling at XC Pre-season (2013)



3. What XC races did you learn the most from last season? And how have they impacted your training or racing? 

There are three races that I will remember most from last season. The first one was the Mid Penn Championships. Before the race, I knew that there was some immense competition I would be facing. Some of the names included Vinny Todaro, Liam Corcoran, Nate Hamilton, Cole Nissley, Alec Kunzweiler, Alex Coburn, Zach Brehm, Jon Colwell, Addison Monroe, and many more extremely talented runners. My coach told me before the race to shoot for top 5. I could not believe my coach was telling me this, as I would have been lucky to have beaten one or two of the guys I just named. Nonetheless, I ran my smartest race of the season, sitting on a lot these guys and saving a kick for the end. I ended up outkicking Alec Kunzweiler (probably the best kicker in the state) and almost caught up to Nissley. I ran a 16:33 on the Big Springs course, which is comparable in difficulty to states course, and took home 5th place. The second meet I will always remember was districts. This race was heartbreaking to say the least. We were favored to win the meet, yet we came in third place. However, I can honestly say that a bit of karma got served our way. Before the meet, we anticipated that it would be a two team competition between ourselves and Altoona. Yet, it was Mifflin County who stood victorious afterwards. The majority of their varsity consisted of seniors, who were inspired and not afraid to take us down at districts. I came down with bronchitis the week of districts but still ended up taking second in the meet to Jon Colwell, who successfully led Mifflin County to their first ever district title (shoutout to all of them). From this meet, my teammates and I learned that you cannot count a team out, especially one as dedicated as them. We also learned the importance of the fifth guy. That meet, the first team to have their fifth guy cross the line was Mifflin County. Their number five guy dropped almost a minute off his time that race and secured the victory for them. Let this be a lesson to any varsity squad; anyone has the opportunity to do something special at any meet. If you believe in yourself and in your teammates, you can make it happen. Finally, the third meet I will always remember is cross country states. Despite still being pretty sick, I still planned on attempting to medal. I took the race out way too fast (4:50 first mile) and ended up paying for it at the end. The first half of the race, I was up running with Russell and Barchet, of West Chester Henderson. I died the last half of the race, struggling to even finish and ended up running a 17:01. I learned from states that you have to race smart in order to expect a satisfactory performance. I did not run smart, and paid dearly because of this. I was also really inspired by seeing my former teammate (Russell) win the state title. That in and of itself kept me motivated to chase a state title of my own in track during my junior year and I will continue to strive for it during this upcoming season.



4. You added two state medals indoors last season along with a state appearance in XC last season and a medal outdoors. How have these experiences impacted your goals, and what are they for this upcoming XC season? 

Having four state medals is great, don’t get me wrong, but I still wish to achieve much greater things. As for individual goals, I was stuck in the low 16’s all of xc season last year, so my first individual goal is to break 16:00 and hopefully get my time down close to 15:30. I also want to win the Mid Penn Championship meet individually, along with the district meet. My final individual goal is to place top 10 at the state meet, which is a very ambitious goal on my part but I believe it can be done. We are racing in the Foundation Meet for the first time this season, so that will help a lot. 

5. What races are you looking forward to most this season other than just the state and district meets?

I am really excited for the Foundation Meet, as well as the Mid Penn Championship. I want to see how well I perform early on in the season on the state course, so I can better gage a good time to shoot for when the state meet comes around. As for the Mid Penn Championship, this is where I had arguably the best race of my life last year. I see no reason why I can’t win it this year. I’m sure it will be a great race between Groh, Nissley, Brehm, and I for the individual title!

6. What are the expectations that you and your teammates have for this upcoming season? Team Goals, ect.

We have yet to win a district track title or a cross country title in my time running for State College and we will certainly strive for that this season. So first and foremost our team goals consist of winning districts (no easy task) and if we accomplish that and move onto states, placing top five as a team. A side goal of ours is also winning the Mid Penn Championship meet as a team. Lower Dauphin is an outstanding team but we know that we can compete with them on a good day, along with any other Mid Penn team. Another goal I have for this team is getting 5-7 guys under 17:00 for our district meet. This team has a ton of talent that I hope will be shown throughout the year. It is our depth that makes us even more special, as I can see 10-12 guys fighting for the final couple of spots on varsity this season. It’s going to be awesome!



7. After breaking out on the PA scene last XC season how has your mindset changed?

In all honesty, it has not changed much. I feel like I cannot be recognized as an elite runner without my teammates being recognized along with me. Only one of my state medals has come in an individual event thus far. That means there were three other guys right by my side, helping our team achieve some pretty great things. I have to recognize my main training partner, Kyle Adams, for all he has done for me both on and off of the track. Without him, pushing me every single practice, trying to stay stride for stride with me at all times, the team and I would be nowhere close to where we are at right now. He puts in just as much time and effort, so do not be surprised if you see him right up with the top guys in the state this season, dropping times he and I would both be pretty satisfied with.