Positively not your average Joe runner

Joe Loner likes to use the word positive. Sometimes he uses it several times in one sentence, apologizes for the overuse and continues to use the word.

But Joe has good reason to be excited. After the first two weekends of competition, Loner is positive the outlook for himself and the Penn State indoor track and field season is positively . . . positive.

Loner is a mid-distance runner who competes in the 800 meter and 1500 in addition to running the anchor leg of the sprint medley and the 4x800 and 4x400 relays.

This past weekend, Loner became a part of history as his team's sprint medley time surpassed a 20-year-old Penn State record.

But Loner is no stranger to success. In 1996, he won the 600 indoors at the President's Invitational and the 800 outdoors at the Milton Abramson Invitational. In 1997, Loner was the only Nittany Lion to finish first at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. His time in the 800 earned him the right to call it "a positive experience."

When asked how breaking the record this year compared with last year's Big Ten Championship performance, Loner replied, "It was good to set the record. It was a matter of us all having the right times at the same time, but for me the Big Ten victory was the most important -- and the most important for Penn State track."

- Joe Loner, Lion mid-distance runner

"Then, the rest was up to me," Loner said. "It was a really positive experience, and it was good for the team to have people doing well. It helps with recruiting, and it picks everyone up."

While attending small Mt. Union High School, Loner began running in gym class. It was his football coach who took notice of his potential and urged him to go out for the track team. As a freshman, he made the varsity squad and went all the way to the Pennsylvania State Championships. It wasn't long before he was running away with the awards.

"I won the 800 for the state in both my junior and senior years," Loner said, "and then I knew that this is what I wanted to be doing."

When asked who has inspired or influenced him the most, Loner is unable to credit any one person.

"I know this sounds bad," Loner said, "but I can't really think of any one person. It's really been an ensemble of people from a high school coach to a teacher and friend, along with support from everyone in high school."

Loner said in a school with smaller enrollment, everyone knew about his successes and really supported him.

"Everyone wished me luck and really got behind me. If anything, this is what influenced me."

Today, he is a senior majoring in elementary education. After graduation, Loner plans to go into the armed forces.

"I'm thinking about the Army for a few years, to see the world," Loner said. "I'd like to run for an Army club before eventually getting into teaching, which is what I really want to do."

But right now, Loner is feeling quite positive about his senior year.

"As I looked around at practice earlier in the year," he said, "it really felt good seeing other people train along with myself, it was really positive. This year is a strong year for Penn State. People have good positive attitudes and a team-oriented mindset, and this is one of the fastest starts we've had.

"The team's really heading in the right direction."

Some of the key contributors Loner mentioned are John Gorham in the long jump and Neal McNutt throwing the 35-pound weight. Both set fieldhouse and meet records in their respective events last weekend in the Bucknell-Hershey Relays.

Another standout who is turning some heads is freshman Ben Karcz, who was an integral part of the record-setting sprint medley team last weekend.

"I think his presence has had a positive effect on me as a runner," Loner said. "He's a very positive, focused guy who goes 100 percent, and when he's running well before me, his determination really gets me pumped up for my leg of the relay."

Ben Karcz is quick to return the compliment.

"Joe's a great person to begin with," Karcz said, "on and off the track. As a freshman, I feel like I can really learn a lot from his experience. He's got a lot more to offer the team than just good relay times. He's a leader."

Assistant coach Andrew Hardyk agrees with Karcz, noting that Loner has started to step up and become a vocal leader as his confidence increases. According to Hardyk, the coaches are very confident in Loner, as long as he is in the right place.

"He's really a great catch-up runner," Hardyk said. "If there are runners ahead of him, he'll run faster, so we move him around in the rotation. Sometimes we put him at anchor, sometimes Ben (Karcz). Sometimes it's more important to set up your anchor, and we know we can usually count on Joe to pick it up."

"Joe's working hard and he's a great runner," Karcz said. "I think we could all continue to improve our times by following his example."

This week the team is gearing up to compete in the Black Knight Quadrangular at West Point, N.Y.

"This weekend Army is the team to beat -- no, scratch that, we're the team to beat," Loner said, "but of the teams we're facing, Army will come at you pretty hard."

"We're all going really well right now, but, with the exception of John (Gorham), there haven't been any really exceptional standouts. There is definitely room for improvements if we're going to win this weekend."

Nonetheless, Loner did not downplay the importance of a win for the Lions at the Black Knight Quadrangular.

"This weekend is a big test for us," he said. "If we pass it, I think it will say a lot about us as a seriously competitive team."

Like most student-athletes at the University, Loner divides the majority of his time between training for track and staying on top of his classes. When asked whether he ever wondered if he was missing part of the college experience, Loner remained positive.

"I imagine there is some experience I'm missing," Loner said. "Maybe a little on the social side, but I have enough going on. Running track itself is knowing people and having a good social sphere, so I don't think I've missed out on that much. It makes schoolwork a lot harder, but you work with the time you're given."

And one could hear the smile creep over Joe's face across the phone line as he added, "I think that, if anything, it enhanced my college experience. I have the opportunity to be here and to represent and contribute to my school -- to Penn State. I can't think of any other way to do it."

Positively.