In a world of seven-figure sneaker contracts, 24-hour sports networks, steroids and ticket brokers, it's easy to forget the basic fundamental reasons why people watch and play sports. The PSU Club XC team is a refreshing reminder of what it's like to play for the love of the game and nothing else.
PSU Club XC is a group of about 80 students united by their love of running cross country and their will to compete. They pay annual dues to cover the cost uniforms and travel. It is not a club sport (at least not yet) even though they run against Div. I, II and III varsity athletes.
This past weekend 12 men and 16 women from PSU Club XC ran in the Penn State Spiked Shoe Invitational against four Div. I schools and a handful of Div. II and III schools. The men placed 16th out of 17 teams and the women took 15th out of 16 teams. Sophomore Rocco Panella finished 92nd with a time of 29:23, ahead of 55 runners from all divisions. Sophomore Lauren Radvansky placed 78th with a time of 24:20. She had a great finish last over a week ago at Lock Haven and finished above 120 other runners and finished before 14 runners from Div. I varsity teams.
The club has had notable success on the course in the past as well. Last year, the women's team won the St. Francis (PA) Invitational beating out Penn State's women's team. In all fairness, the Nittany Lions did not race their fastest runners, but it was still the varsity team nonetheless. Men's team runner Dave Moore even made the jump from the club to the Penn State men's cross country roster. He made the team after a tryout this September. Moore placed 66th at the Spiked Shoe Invitational this past weekend as a Lion.
The Penn State women's cross country team does not hold a try-out. Many members of PSU Club XC wish it would. According to women's cross country coach Beth Alford-Sullivan her program does not need a try-out. She has enough athletes on scholarship. But she is impressed with what the club team has accomplished. She also noted that if any of the women runners in the club ever broke the top seven, she would get in touch with them that day about joining the team.
Off the course the team remains close. They even get together once a week for a pasta dinner. Senior Kristen Erny missed that family atmosphere going hand and hand with running cross country her freshman year at Penn State. She almost transferred until she ran into fellow freshman and current senior Erica Marshall, who shared her passion for running.
Erny and Marshall tried to form a cross country club team, but were turned down by Penn State's Club Sports Program because there were too many club sports teams at the time. Looking for other options they discovered that Penn State had a running club until 1989. They revived the inactive club and renamed it, PSU Club XC. The two were able to organize a cross country student organization not a club sport. Erny and Marshall hung up flyers to get the word out, and had 65 students show up at the first practice.
"We wanted to have a club where everyone could come together and recreate the team atmosphere we had in high school," Erny said. "We wanted to establish a strong running community at Penn State."
Changes in the Penn State Club Sports Program have allowed PSU Club XC to re-apply to the program by petitioning the Club Sports Advising Council. The Council, made up of current club sports members, coaches, and representatives chosen by Athletic Director Tim Curley, will review the petition to see if the team meets the new club sports program criteria. They will then make a recommendation to Club Sports Coordinator Erin Regenfuss. She will make the final decision by the end of this semester. She said she was not around when the club was turned down three years ago, but she believes the rejection was made arbitrarily.
Regardless of what happens, the team will keep running, simply because they love it.
Otterbine insists his past two years on the team have provided him with his fondest memories of Penn State. All of his current roommates are also his teammates. Sophomore Allison Saxer loves racing against some of the best runners in the country. And Radvansky enjoys balancing running with academics.
Erny said you get the best of both worlds on the PSU Club XC team.
"I can compete in Division II, and Division III races, get the same runners high, have that team atmosphere, stay in shape and still go out on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights," Erny said. "It's more on your own time."
