University of Tennessee Athletics
Photo by: Amanda Pruitt/Tennessee Athletics
NCAA Cross Country Media Session
November 12, 2018 | Track & Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In advance of this weekend's NCAA Cross Country Championships, director of track & field/cross country Beth Alford Sullivan and student-athletes Megan Murray and Zach Long talked with local media about competing on the national stage.
Here are some exerts from the interview session:
Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Beth Alford-Sullivan
On having two first-time qualifiers for nationals: "So it has been an outstanding season. Megan (Murray) is a junior, Zach (Long) is a senior and they've had this as their ambition all season long. From the end of last year to the qualifying on Friday morning, it has been their ambition to get to the national championships. They both led some great teams on their way this year, but the two of them put together some performances that were outstanding. The best we've seen in a long time."
On if she envisioned Zach Long being so dominant: "You know, you always have these hopes and aspirations. The hopes and aspirations that they have as well, you think 'where can they be in four years' and I have to say Zach is a great example of taking all the coaching in, taking all the training in and growing upon it on step at a time. He's had breakout season, after breakout season, after breakout season and that's icing on the cake for cross country. Out of all of his events this is the toughest one for him, it's a 10,000-meter run and he's not the slightest of bodies for a distance runner. He's carrying some good mass around the cross-country course, but man he put together a brilliant race and it was hot as heck down there in Florida."
On recapping the season: "We've had a great breakout year. The ladies have finally started to turn the corner and showed up at conference and regionals. The men had a great shot as a team berth, which would've been the first time in well over a decade. Both of these young people have led them. I have two new staff members with me, Ryan Foster and Kara Foster, coaching alongside me with the distance runners, and I feel like this portion of the team is really turning the corner. I think the future is going to be fine."
Cross country and distance runner Megan Murray
On racing in the cold weather at the NCAA Cross Country Championship: "You just have to be tough and think about all the hard workouts you've put in. Especially since we aren't in cold weather here, when I go out and race, I just think about everything I've done up to that point. It's not so much about training for cold weather, it's about being tough."
On what it's like qualifying for the first time: "It's fun and exciting. I love cross country, so I'm happy that my first nationals was at a cross country meet. I'm super excited to go and race this kind of race because I think it's going to be a great experience."
On being from Knoxville and competing for Tennessee: "I always dreamed about it. Once I started learning about the running community, it has always been a goal to make a national meet. Once I made it to Tennessee that was the ultimate goal to qualify for a national meet."
Cross country and distance runner Zach Long:
On the progress he has made since his freshman year: "It's a process, you come in as a freshman and get beaten up and beaten down a little bit. So, you just have to take that mentally the first couple of years. A lot of guys paved the way for me, a lot of seniors led me to this point. It's a process like I said, step by step, upping the mileage every year and it feels good to finally qualify for a national championship in cross country."
On when he realized nationals was a realistic goal: "It's always been a goal since my sophomore year when I made it to outdoor in track for the NCAAs. It's always been a chip on my shoulder not being able to make the national championship in cross country. Cross country has always been a rollercoaster for me because I'm more built for the track. Last year I had a disappointing regional and SEC Championship, so I have that chip on my shoulder."
On qualifying in his senior year: "It was a breath of fresh air. Starting the summer when you start training it's the goal all along. It was the goal all along, we went out to Colorado to train a little bit over the summer and I upped my mileage a little bit. Every day I was working to get to this point."
Here are some exerts from the interview session:
Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Beth Alford-Sullivan
On having two first-time qualifiers for nationals: "So it has been an outstanding season. Megan (Murray) is a junior, Zach (Long) is a senior and they've had this as their ambition all season long. From the end of last year to the qualifying on Friday morning, it has been their ambition to get to the national championships. They both led some great teams on their way this year, but the two of them put together some performances that were outstanding. The best we've seen in a long time."
On if she envisioned Zach Long being so dominant: "You know, you always have these hopes and aspirations. The hopes and aspirations that they have as well, you think 'where can they be in four years' and I have to say Zach is a great example of taking all the coaching in, taking all the training in and growing upon it on step at a time. He's had breakout season, after breakout season, after breakout season and that's icing on the cake for cross country. Out of all of his events this is the toughest one for him, it's a 10,000-meter run and he's not the slightest of bodies for a distance runner. He's carrying some good mass around the cross-country course, but man he put together a brilliant race and it was hot as heck down there in Florida."
On recapping the season: "We've had a great breakout year. The ladies have finally started to turn the corner and showed up at conference and regionals. The men had a great shot as a team berth, which would've been the first time in well over a decade. Both of these young people have led them. I have two new staff members with me, Ryan Foster and Kara Foster, coaching alongside me with the distance runners, and I feel like this portion of the team is really turning the corner. I think the future is going to be fine."
Cross country and distance runner Megan Murray
On racing in the cold weather at the NCAA Cross Country Championship: "You just have to be tough and think about all the hard workouts you've put in. Especially since we aren't in cold weather here, when I go out and race, I just think about everything I've done up to that point. It's not so much about training for cold weather, it's about being tough."
On what it's like qualifying for the first time: "It's fun and exciting. I love cross country, so I'm happy that my first nationals was at a cross country meet. I'm super excited to go and race this kind of race because I think it's going to be a great experience."
On being from Knoxville and competing for Tennessee: "I always dreamed about it. Once I started learning about the running community, it has always been a goal to make a national meet. Once I made it to Tennessee that was the ultimate goal to qualify for a national meet."
Cross country and distance runner Zach Long:
On the progress he has made since his freshman year: "It's a process, you come in as a freshman and get beaten up and beaten down a little bit. So, you just have to take that mentally the first couple of years. A lot of guys paved the way for me, a lot of seniors led me to this point. It's a process like I said, step by step, upping the mileage every year and it feels good to finally qualify for a national championship in cross country."
On when he realized nationals was a realistic goal: "It's always been a goal since my sophomore year when I made it to outdoor in track for the NCAAs. It's always been a chip on my shoulder not being able to make the national championship in cross country. Cross country has always been a rollercoaster for me because I'm more built for the track. Last year I had a disappointing regional and SEC Championship, so I have that chip on my shoulder."
On qualifying in his senior year: "It was a breath of fresh air. Starting the summer when you start training it's the goal all along. It was the goal all along, we went out to Colorado to train a little bit over the summer and I upped my mileage a little bit. Every day I was working to get to this point."
Players Mentioned
XC/Distance
/ Track & Field
XC/Middle Distance/Distance
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