by Taylor Cotie

On July 9, Greensboro College announced that cross country would be making a return to the athletic program. The last time GC had a cross country team was in 2011. It was also announced that the head coach of the men’s and women’s cross country team would be Zachary Krieger. Krieger graduated from East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, earning a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and history in 2018. Soon after, Krieger went on to graduate school at the University of Central Missouri to earn his master’s in kinesiology. Krieger’s coaching career began at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania as an assistant cross country and track and field coach.

The Collegian had the opportunity to speak with Krieger. When asking Krieger what he was most excited about for their upcoming 2024 season, he replied, “I am most excited for the opportunity for the team to compete. The cross country season as a whole is a great bonding experience, but there is something about race days that have a special energy.”

When asking Krieger what has helped prepare him to bring back cross country at Greensboro College as a new coach building a new program, he responded, “I have had a few years of collegiate coaching experience between Elizabethtown College, the University of Central Missouri and California State East Bay. At each stop, I have had some great mentors that have helped shape my idea of what a program should be and how to grow it.”

Krieger is confident that his past experiences will help him grow the cross country team here at Greensboro College. Being a coach for a new athletic team and trying to recruit players can be difficult. When asking Krieger how challenging recruitment has been when it comes to building a new program, he responded, “As with starting any program, going from nothing to having a whole team will always be difficult. There is an inherent amount of risk associated with joining a team that has not existed.”

He added, “I am incredibly proud of the athletes that have taken that leap and joined this year and am confident this team will grow. If anyone seeing this has any interest, reach out! I am always open to the conversation.”

The Greensboro College cross country team is currently the smallest athletic team on campus, having only three runners. The Collegian had the chance to speak with these three talented athletes. We first had the chance to speak with the only runner on the men’s cross country team, freshman Jared Alepa. We asked Alepa what made him want to run cross country at Greensboro College and he replied, “I chose to run for GC because I felt the smaller team and college atmosphere would be best for my goals as an athlete. A more personal experience with my team and community just felt right for me.”

When asking Alepa what he was most looking forward to for this upcoming season, his response was, “I am most looking forward to having the opportunity to continue being a part of a sport that I genuinely enjoy so much. I am very eager to better myself as an athlete and see how much better I can become.”

For the women’s cross country team, we had the chance to speak with freshman, McKenzie Koos. When asking Koos what made her initially want to join the Greensboro College cross country team, she stated, “I was not planning on running cross country in college at all, but Coach Kreiger reached out and I figured I would visit the college and see what it was like. When I walked on to the Greensboro College campus, I loved it and that is when I decided to run for cross country.”

“I am looking forward to breathing new life into the Greensboro College cross country team. I think it is super cool that we get the opportunity to rebuild this program. I am also super excited to run some of the same courses that I ran when I was in high school,” Koos replied when asked what she was most looking forward to this season.

Lastly, we had the chance to speak with dual-sport athlete, sophomore Keira Fenyo. Fenyo is also a member of Greensboro College’s women’s lacrosse team. When asked why she decided to join the cross country team, Fenyo replied, “I joined the cross country team at Greensboro College because I also play lacrosse and wanted to stay in shape for season. I also wanted to try out something new this year.”

When asked what she was most looking forward to about this upcoming season, Fenyo replied, “For this upcoming season, I am looking forward to seeing how my numbers will improve with my distance.”

The cross country team’s first local run is held on Saturday, September 28 at Hagan Stone Park in Greensboro, NC. Come out and support your Greensboro College men and women’s cross country team!