This year the Sacramento State track team has been leading conference competition from the beginning of the season to the present.

 

A big reason for the team’s success is that distance runners have stepped up and emerged as conference leaders. The athletes do not receive the glory that sprinters receive, but they still go the extra mile – literally.

 

Distance runner coach Scott Abbot said the key to the Hornets’ success is how hard they train.

 

“During the course of the week, our guys run up to 80 to 90 miles a week, and girls put up 50 to 60 miles a week,” said Abbott.

 

According to Men’s Health Magazine, the average man only runs 10 to 20 miles a week. So on most men’s best day the lady Hornets can run circles around them.

 

Sac State’s training and Abbott’s philosophies are ultimately what coach Kathleen Raske said is keeping them in top positions in the Big Sky Conference.

 

“The atmosphere and level of competition has increased from last year’s team. The distance runners have made a good step forward from last year, plus coach Abott’s different viewpoints have improved their confidence level as well,” she said.

 

Raske is not the only one who thinks Abbott was a good addition to the team this year.

 

“Coach Abbott makes practice a lot more fun than our previous coach did. He is a lot younger and energetic so he can keep up with us, which makes us like coming to practice,” said senior distance runner Jeffrey Paneda, who is leading the conference in the 800 meter run and fourth in the 1500 meter run.

 

Currently three Hornet distance runners are in the top five positions in the steeplechase: junior Dominic Vogl, who is the conference leader (also ranked 15th in the country), sophomore Scott Grose who is currently in second in conference and Colin Szehner, who is in fourth place.

 

Another big part of the team’s success is its unity.

 

“Everything is more crucial. We care about everyone. There are no individuals on this team. When I would be in a race I used to get nervous, but now I am more comfortable because I hear my teammates cheering for me,” Vogl said.

 

What also helped the distance runners get ready to compete hard was their willingness to get better. Paneda said at the end of last year the distance runners made a commitment to go out next season to do better and practice harder.

 

“We want to help the sprinters out and felt like we weren’t doing our part for scoring in the championships. We felt like the weakest link. Now we practice harder – we do not want to be the weak link any more,” said junior Kristina Holtz, who is the women’s conference leader in the steeplechase.

 

The lady Hornets mean business too. Along with Holtz leading the way, freshman Renisha Robinson is also conference leader in the 800 meter run (No. 2-ranked freshman in the country, and ranked 14th in the nation overall). Senior Tiffany Hall is making a name for herself, transferring from San Jose State to join the Hornets and making the top five in the 1500 meter run.

 

At Sac State’s Nike Elite meet, both Holtz and Robinson qualified for the NCAA Regional meet.

 

“I was not here for the previous years, but I know we made a lot of good improvements and contributions to put us in a good position for conference,” said Robinson.

 

So if a person comes out to watch a track meet, don’t just stay for the 100 meters or the 4×100 meter relay because you might miss some compelling things happen in the distance races.

 

“They are not the glamour events like the 100 or the 4-by-4 relay, but you get to see the drama play out through the race. I will admit a distance race lacks the interest as a sprint event, but it takes a different type of kid to run it,” Abbott said.

 

David Green can be reached at [email protected]