It all started with a team meeting in April.
The Penn State men's cross country team got together to discuss the upcoming season and outline its goals for the season. Following a ninth-place finish at Big Tens and finishing eighth in the region, the Nittany Lions' goals might have been a bit lofty to some.
Penn State wanted to finish in the top three of the region, top five in the Big Ten and gain a trip to nationals.
"We said we could be one of the top teams in the region this year and in the Big Ten and that's kind of what we aimed for before we even started thinking about cross country," senior John Mahoney said.
Eight months later, the Lions are headed to the national championship for the first time since 1994 after a fourth-place finish at Big Tens and a second-place finish last weekend at the regional championship.
"I think we stayed humble," senior Teddy Quinn said. "We had a lot of success along the way but we kind of took it as 'this is good but let's get back to what we want to do.' I think we stayed focused throughout everything. We had success and we stayed focused. We had some disappointment we still stayed focused and that's the kind of stuff that leads to postseason success."
A key factor in the Lions' success, according to coach Beth Alford-Sullivan, was the return of redshirt freshman Kyle Dawson, who came back to the lineup in October.
Dawson led the Lions with fifth-place finishes at the Penn State National and the Big Ten Championship and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Dawson placed second on the team at the regional championship with an eighth-place finish.
"It gave us the break that we needed of a great up-front runner and also, everybody used that momentum to be a positive thing and to roll with it," Alford-Sullivan said. "So it really stepped everybody's game up right at the right time of the year."
When Alford-Sullivan took over the men's program in 2006, she set her sights on turning around the program and going to the national championship in three years. Three years later, Alford-Sullivan and Penn State are making travel arrangements for Terre Haute, Ind., the site of the national championship, a trip Alford-Sullivan credits to the dedication of her seniors.
For Quinn, who said last week a trip to nationals would "completely validate the entire Penn State experience," he was happier for a much simpler reason than being headed to nationals.
"Personally, I'm just happy to be part of the team." Quinn said. "It's been unreal. Every meet's been fantastic and it's such a unique experience and I guess that in that aspect we've exceeded expectations but it's just great to be out here."
