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Monroe is PSAC champ

Former Husky extends family, team tradition

KUTZTOWN — The Lock Haven University men’s cross country team has been very successful as a unit the last couple years, and the team went into the 2016 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championships gunning for its fourth straight title.

At the helm of the powerful men’s squad is Mifflin County’s own Addison Monroe. Monroe, a senior at Lock Haven University (a junior in terms of eligibility), crossed the finish line first, claiming his first individual PSAC title. Monroe covered the 8K course with a time of 25:38.6.

“It definitely feels good,” Monroe said. “I just wanted to go out there and compete with some great guys. As a team we just wanted to use this meet to gain some confidence and know where we stack up.”

As a team, Lock Haven fell just short of its goal, falling to Shippensburg University by seven points to finish in second place.

Individually, Monroe has had strong performances at Lehigh University’s Paul Short meet, as well as coming away with the PSAC title. Monroe was the fifth finisher from a non-Division I school at the Paul Short.

While unhappy with his performance at the meet, Monroe definitely proved what he is capable of at the PSAC championships, which is only the beginning for Monroe and the Lock Haven team. The team has lofty goals that include strong finishes in regional and national competition.

“It feels great to have this kind of team tradition,” Monroe said. “We are always one of the top teams in the conference and the region. That alone gets people confident and excited. This year, Ship and Edinboro are two of the better teams in the nation. Knowing that we can hang with these guys is a great feeling.”

Monroe also has big goals for the rest of the season for himself.

“I see myself working toward the top 10, but I just want to get out there and run the best race of my life,” Monroe said. “Mostly, I want to make sure I am an All-American, which would require at least a top 40 finish.”

Monroe has earned numerous awards this season, and was recognized as PSAC Athlete of the Week twice.

“There are some amazing runners in the PSAC. It feels good to be recognized along side some of these great athletes that have these accolades,” he said.

Monroe noted the hard work he had to put in to get to where he is today. He recalled not being able to make Lock Haven’s roster due to numerous injuries, and being out of shape.

“I found myself being a little smarter about my training and I went on and found myself being a factor for the team my sophomore year,” Monroe said. “Since then I have just kept training smart and slowly reached more and more goals. Now I feel as if I have figured out my body pretty well.”

Monroe also looks to his family and teammates for support.

“I am very grateful to have a great team and family that continue to push me to keep getting better even when things don’t look as good. The atmosphere my team creates makes it hard for any of us to slack. It feels good to have a brother who is extremely motivating,” Monroe said.

Monroe’s brother is former Indian Valley High School and Lock Haven standout Alex Monroe.

“He is a talented individual who inspires me to stick with running,” Addison Monroe said. “People often look at that as if it would be challenging to live up to the older brother. I just look at his accomplishments for a form of motivation.”

Monroe has long-term goals that include becoming an All-American in the spring track season, as well as finding a graduate school where he can use his final year of eligibility to compete.

Monroe will head to the regional at Slippery Rock University Saturday.

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