Season Preview: 2021 Men's Cross Country

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College men's cross country team looks to make a climb back towards the top of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) in 2021. W&J is scheduled to begin its season on September 1 at the Muskingum University Invitational.

2020-21 Season Review: The Presidents' season looked a lot different for the 2020-21 season. W&J had only two regular season meets before they headed to Bethany College for the PAC Men's Cross Country Championships this past spring.

The Washington & Jefferson College men's cross country team ran to a third-place finish at the season opener at Saint Vincent, just edging out Geneva by five points. The Presidents were fourth the following week at the Bethany Invitational.

The team concluded the abbreviated 2020-21 season with a fifth place performance at the PAC Championships. The Presidents were fifth with a team score of 123, just two points behind Waynesburg for fourth place. 

"To be completely honest, I was very skeptical a spring season could happen," Workman said. "We lost outdoor track & field in the spring of 2020, cross country in the fall of 2020 and indoor track & field in the spring of 2021. When I heard we were going to try and do a winter cross country season, I never thought it would happen. I am so glad I was wrong. We all needed a "WIN" at that time of the school year and coming out of a pandemic."

W&J had two runners achieve All-PAC Second Team status as senior Parker Laughlin and sophomore Paul Collier (Heath, Ohio/Heath) both finished inside the top 14 runners at PACs.

Additionally, Laughlin earned his second straight selection to the Academic All-District Men's Track & Field/Cross Country First Team by the College Sports Information Directors of American. Earlier this month, Laughlin was named a Third Team Academic All-America selection by CoSIDA.

Freshman Clay Yeager (Mifflintown, Pa./Juniata) narrowly missed out on All-PAC Honorable Mention applause with a 25th-place finish at 17:37.6.

PAC Preseason Poll: 3rd of 10 teams
 

2021 PAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2020-21 PAC Championships finish
1. Franciscan University (8)	89	1st (of 9), 27 pts.
2. Saint Vincent College (2)	83	2nd (of 9), 29 pts.
3. Washington & Jefferson College	72	5th (of 9), 123 pts.
4. Grove City College	61	6th (of 9), 142 pts.
5. Geneva College	56	3rd (of 9), 97 pts.
6. Waynesburg University	55	4th (of 9), 121 pts.
7. Westminster College	37	7th (of 9), 212 pts.
8. Chatham University	34	9th (of 9), 264 pts.
9. Thiel College	28	8th (of 9), 222 pts.
10. Bethany College	25	Individuals only

PAC Runners To Watch: Paul Collier, Aden Dressler, Brock Pennington

Team Captains: Paul Collier and Aden Dressler

"This is Paul and Aden's team now. They were both named captains on the cross country team for the upcoming school year for a reason," Workman said. "Paul and Aden are the definition of "TEAM" guys. They are all about whatever they can do to help the team. They will lead our team by showing them how to be successful student-athletes, how to work hard every day at practice, and how to show up big on race day. I can't wait to watch them take over and lead this team this fall, they are ready."

Returners: Collier made a name for himself when he earned PAC Men's Cross Country Newcomer of the Year in 2019. He continued that success into last season, as Collier was a top three finisher for W&J in all of W&J's three meets. He was top finisher for W&J at Bethany, placing eighth overall at 16:51. His thirteenth-place finish at PAC's earned him a spot on the All-PAC Second Team.

"Paul has been All-PAC First Team several times in his career so far," Workman said. "As a freshmen, he was the PAC Newcomer of the Year. He followed that up during his sophomore year, winning a PAC Championship in the 10K at the 2021 PAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. That gave him the juice he needed to have a good summer, he was fired up and excited. He did just that, and I fully expect him to compete at a very high level for us again this fall."

Junior Aden Dressler (Evans City, Pa./Butler) finished top three for the Presidents' in both the regular season meets. Dressler clocked in a time of 16:57 on Bethany's 5K course, grabbing 11th place in the 59-runner field. At Saint Vincent, Dressler finished third for W&J with a 5K time of 17:34.26, good for 22nd overall. 

"We had to make a tough choice with Aden and we held him out of the PAC Cross Country Championship with a lingering injury that we didn't want to carry over into outdoor track," Workman said. "That absolutely affected our team score for Cross Country. However, he went on to win the 3,000 Steeplechase at the PAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, and score some big points for our men's team. It all worked out in the end and we're excited to see him back in the 8K again. He is a "gamer" and always shows up at big races," Workman stated. "He has been named All-PAC several times in his young career as well. I'm sure he will continue to do much of the same this year, and we expect him to compete at a very high level."

Yeager finished top five for the Presidents' in all three meets in the 20-21 season as a freshman. At his first collegiate meet, Yeager rounded out the top five for the Presidents' with a 5K time of 18:09.20, placing him 30th overall. He finished third for the Presidents' and 25th overall at PACs with a time of 17:37.6.

Newcomers: The Presidents welcome a seven-man freshman class for 2021-2022.

"Watch out for this incoming freshman class. It is loaded with talent, I am extremely excited to watch these young men progress," Workman said. "I expect this group to make their names known right away. They will help us move this team right back towards the top of this conference. There is definitely a transition in college, mainly going from 5K to 8K, but they are hungry, driven, and ambitious. I think they'll adjust just fine."

Ben Daerr (Finleyville,PA./Ringgold)
Jacob Davis (South Burlington, VT./South Burlington)
Daniel Deal (Butler, PA./Knoch)
Maxwell Donaty (Westborough, Mass./Westborough)
Julian Paul (Pittsburgh, PA./Montour)
Brock Pennington (North East, PA./North East)
Alex Puskaric (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin)
Jacob Sinclair (Beallsville, PA./Beth-Center)

Looking At The Schedule: The 2021-22 cross country season will consist of five regular season meets and the annual PAC Championship meet.

The Presidents begin the season on Sept. 1 at the Muskingum Opener. W&J heads to the Bethany Invitational (Sept. 11), the Lock Haven Invitational (Sept. 25), the Don Cathcart Invitational at Muskingum Invitational (Oct. 2), the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble (Oct. 16) before the PAC Championships on Oct. 30. NCAA Regionals will be held on Nov. 13.

Final Word From Workman: "First off, I can't wait to get back to a normal cross country season again. It's been two years. Keep your eyes out for our men's team this fall. We are young and deeper than we've ever been. I think we are going to surprise a lot of teams this year. I'm very excited to watch them progress as the season goes along. I love the energy and potential with this group."