Everyone always asks redshirt sophomore John Reniewicki and his freshman sister Megan Reniewicki how they get along so well.
Maybe it’s because they’re ASU cross country teammates. Maybe it’s because, as they would attest, they have many similar interests.
Or maybe that’s just how brothers and sisters are supposed to treat each other — like family.
"I've never seen them have any negative disputes," redshirt senior C.J. Albertson said of the Reniewicki siblings. "They seem like they'd be an enjoyable family to be a part of."
No matter how you slice it, being two close siblings on the Sun Devils cross country team has served as an interesting and beneficial experience for the Reniewickis.
Having a father who coached cross country and track at Arcadia High School in Phoenix, they each developed an interest in the sport, having been around it their entire lives.
Their first memories of the sport include playing on the playground and messing around with the older athletes during their dad’s cross country practices.
“I would go and look up to them, so I wanted to be like that,” John said.
Megan echoed his thoughts: “When he was older, he would go to his club races, and I would go and watch, and I would see girls my age running and think ‘oh, I kind of want to do that.' I kind of wanted to do what the family was doing.”
It was a similar pattern that brought Megan to ASU after her brother joined the team at the start of the 2013-14 school year.
John committed to run for head coach Louie Quintana's Sun Devils despite initially wanting to get away from the area and branch out. He ended up realizing, however, that a familiar environment might not be such a bad thing. Megan would follow suit during her senior year, committing to ASU after a tough decision between the Sun Devils and rival Arizona in the fall of 2015.
“When I came here on my visit, it felt right,” she said. “I really liked the girls on the team, I liked the team aspect, I liked Louie and (assistant coach Jeremy Rasmussen) and thought they were great coaches and that I could really build here and make my running better.”
When she committed, her brother was ecstatic, despite how unconventional that may be for the average older brother upon finding out he would get another three years of his sister at school with him.
Like any other incoming true freshman, the adjustment has been “crazy,” but has been made easier by that connection to not only her brother but also the other members of the cross country team.
“I think it definitely made the transition a lot more smooth,” she said. “Coming in, I obviously knew John, so I knew someone at least, and over the summer because I’m from here, I got to train with some of the girls, so I wasn’t alone, and it just really helped.”
The level of competition is also something new, but she hasn’t exactly shied away from the challenge. Megan took fifth place in her first race as a Sun Devil, the third-highest finisher for an ASU women's team that took first at the George Kyte Invitational in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Women take 1st! Men take 2nd! The Sun Devils tore everything in their path #MaroonMonsoon pic.twitter.com/dAXTaML8JZ
— SunDevilTFXC (@SunDevilTFXC) September 3, 2016
“I definitely think the intensity has increased a lot, just in the runs and the workouts,” she said. “And also, I know that when we get to the bigger races the competition is going to be a lot bigger and a lot more challenging … but I’m really excited to see that I’ve been making progress.”
As for her brother, who is now in his third year in the program, they're those teammate relationships with upperclassmen like Albertson — who he referred to as a “character” — along with Bernie Montoya and Cody Brazeal, that give him someone to look up to and model himself after as he begins to take hold of a leadership role.
Albertson made it clear that he sees a lot potential in John Reniewicki as someone that can take hold of a critical leadership role when he leaves after this season.
“I think for me, (the upperclassmen) just kind of instilled in me the idea of coming to practice everyday and that consistency is what’s going to get where you want to go,” John said.
The Reniewicki siblings, who share similar passions for running, also share a goal of leading their team to the NCAA National Championships. This is the goal that echoes throughout the ASU cross country organization early in its season.
And if the Reniewickis can achieve it, they will certainly leave a mark on the ASU program and on their family name, which has been in the sport of cross country since before they were born.
“Last year we didn’t really lose any cross country guys, but from sophomore to junior we lost five huge guys on the team,” John said. “It really hit home that what we do is so temporary — it feels like we’re going to be in college competing and running with everybody forever — so it’s just a big motivation to say that there’s not a lot of time to accomplish our goals, so now is when we’re going to go for it.”
Related Links
ASU cross country enters 2016 season with new faces and high hopes
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