KUTZTOWN, PA (August 26, 2010) – The weekly 60-mile runs was evidence that Becca Brandt was not contempt with her memorable freshman season for the Kutztown University women’s cross-country and track teams. Brandt helped the cross-country team finish 14th at last year’s NCAA Division II championships and set school indoor records in the 3,000 and 5,000-meter dashes.
While those were very nice accomplishments, Brandt has put those achievements on the shelf as started focusing on the 2010 season in the pre-dawn hours of summer. While many of her peers were sleep, Brandt woke up at 5 a.m. and started an arduous 10-mile training session as the sun rose over bucolic central Pennsylvania. To put what Brandt did this summer into perspective, it’s like jogging from here to Philadelphia every week.
“Even with all of the training and running, I enjoyed the summer,” Brandt said. “I also worked at Hershey Park in the games department where I supervised the kids and their games. That was fun.”
Brandt and the Golden Bears plan to have a lot of fun this season especially if they live up to their lofty preseason standards. Kutztown is ranked 17th nationally and second in the Atlantic Region of the United States Track & Field Cross-Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA) preseason polls.
Brandt is one of a talented quartet of runners returning from last year who ran in the NCAA championships at Southern Indiana. Seniors Kristin Cupido, Keri Brown and Cristina Reimer are also returning veterans that have the Golden Bears, despite being picked third in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) preseason poll, feeling optimistic.
Kutztown will open the curtains on its much anticipated 2010 season next Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. when it competes in the Lehigh Valley Challenge at Lehigh University.
“A ranking like this lets the underclassmen know where we want to be at the end of this season and where we were last year,” Brandt said. “We all loved the experience out at nationals last year and we have a lot of returning runners and a lot of good freshmen who will help us and hopefully make it to another national championship meet again. We’re looking forward to the upcoming season.”
Before looking ahead, one must look back at Brandt’s terrific season. On the cross-country course, Brandt finished in the top 30 at the NCAA Atlantic Regionals, which helped the Golden Bears finish second overall. During the indoor PSAC championships, Brandt set school records in the 3,000-meter run (10:11.01) and 5,000-meter run (17:30.44) as KU finished fifth overall. Brandt was a NCAA provisional qualifier in both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
“Coming out of high school; Becca was one of the better distance runners in the state of Pennsylvania,” Kutztown women’s cross-country coach Ray Hoffman said. “What she did as a freshman was phenomenal. We’ve had a lot of talented ladies come through the program so for her to do that as a freshman was quite an accomplishment. I am looking for her to take a bit of step up this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s more gradual than the other girls being what she did last year.”
An elementary education major, Brandt credits her love of running to one of her former coaches, Brandon Risser. As a freshman last season, Brandt easily blended in with her teammates.
Brandt enjoys being with her family and around her friends. To escape the daily grind of running, Brandt makes merchants of American Eagle and Aeropostle smile whenever she visits a mall because those are her favorite stores.
“The upperclassmen took me under their wing and showed me the ropes,” Brandt said. “They told me that if I felt good during a race; then go for it and not hold back. Hopefully I can help the underclassmen do the same thing. I want to medal at the conference meet. Then at regionals, I want do better than I did last year and make it to nationals. My ultimate goal is to become an All-American and help us make nationals.”
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