The youthful ASU cross country team has been looking for a frontrunner all season long, and with just a few days to go before the NCAA Pre-National meet it appears the Sun Devils have an established leader in both the men’s and women’s camps.
Much to their own surprise, redshirt senior Ben Engelhardt and junior Lindsay Prescott have set the pace for ASU in most of the races this year.
Engelhardt, in his fifth season in the ASU cross country program, has finished first among the Sun Devil men the past two meets. Prescott, who has been competing since she was a true freshman, has led the way for the ASU women in three races this season.
“We need a frontrunner to be in the main pack and lower our point total,” said Prescott, who, along with Engelhardt, has humbly accepted her vital role as the team’s No. 1 harrier.
Even with the early individual success, both runners are careful not to get too comfortable. This frontrunner role is something neither harrier expected to have to fulfill at the beginning of the season, and the responsibility that comes with the job is something they are discovering more and more with each passing day.
“I wasn’t really expecting to be finishing this high on the team,” Engelhardt said. “But it’s just kind of fallen into my lap like that. I definitely recognize the responsibilities I have with that [frontrunner] position, and I’m trying to embrace them. But it’s not something I planned on.”
Prescott, who constantly stresses the importance of team over individual success, is also adjusting to her position at the front of the pack, which she credits to her tough summer conditioning program.
“I had a really good summer,” Prescott said. “I put a lot of miles in and got up every day at 5 a.m. I guess the hard work is finally paying off.”
Both runners know the familiar ups and downs that come along with any season.
Even with the men’s disappointing 11th place finish at the Notre Dame Invitational, Engelhardt said it is imperative for his team to let the past be the past and to remain focused on the tasks at hand down the stretch.
“The hardest thing is to stay focused on what I have to do today,” Engelhardt said. “You can’t get bogged down on what happened yesterday or in the workout last week. You have to forget your good races as quickly as you forget your bad races — you can’t get attached to anything.”
Similarly, the women seem to have put their subpar performance at the Roy Griak Invitational a few weeks ago behind them.
Prescott noted that even in the face of a letdown like that, it’s important to support your teammates.
“I make sure we just encourage one another, to keep everyone positive, and if someone has a bad race it’s like, ‘Well, we’re still proud of you,’” Prescott said.
Engelhardt and Prescott utilize different strategies when it comes to keeping their fellow teammates mentally tough while racing.
“I try to keep them focused on the present,” Engelhardt said. “I try to get them to forget about how much we have left in the workout or the race.”
Meanwhile, Prescott employs a more subtle approach to leadership with the women.
“I’m more like the quiet leader,” Prescott said. “I lead by example and I’m not that vocal.”
Though they may differ in leadership styles, Engelhardt and Prescott have both been crucial in pushing their team to get better every day.
They refuse to be satisfied with the team’s current position, and feel that they are right on track to peak come crunch time.
“We’re not even close [to peaking],” Prescott said. “We’ve still got a ways to go. I don’t think we’ll peak until regionals and nationals, where it really matters.”
The Sun Devils will continue to train hard and use this weekend’s NCAA Pre-Nationals as a stepping-stone toward their ultimate goal of making it back to the national meet.
“We have to continually improve our attitude during races,” Engelhardt said. “It’s easy to come out [to practice] and just get a work-out done. The hard part is getting out of your own way in competition, and just expressing yourself through running.”
Reach the reporter at kyle.j.newman@asu.edu
