State College boys cross country shines after traveling to Oregon to race vs. country’s best

When Rebecca Donaghue arrived at Portland International Airport with seven members of the State College boys cross country team on Wednesday, a tinge of déjà vu swept over the Little Lions head coach.

Donaghue’s last visit to Oregon as a competitor occurred in 2012 when she ran events for the marathon and the 10,000-meter run during the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

On Saturday, it was Donaghue’s Little Lions who faced the best of the best. State College placed eighth (257 points) out of a prestigious 22-team field at the Nike Cross National Boys 5K Championships in Portland, Oregon. State College became the seventh high school program from the commonwealth to compete in the national invitational that debuted in 2004.

“For this team to get here is equivalent to the high school Olympics, in a way,” said Donaghue, who also teaches sixth-grade art at Park Forest Middle School. “It’s just so tough to make this meet. They only take two from each region, and you get to the regionals and it’s the best of the best there from that side of the country. And to go to one final (meet), it’s basically the Olympics of high school.”

The senior-sophomore sibling duo of Issac (16:09.5) and Theo (16:09.9) Oppermann finished 43rd and 44th, respectively, among the field of 199 runners. Sophomore Luke Bradbury (16:32.6), sophomore Kyle Fritzsche (16:54.5), senior Owen Coughlin (16:56.0), senior Stephen Fowler (17:19.3) and senior Griffin Selber (17:52.6) rounded out the rest of the Little Lions’ contingent.

“It’s a special event, and I’m very grateful to make it here — especially as a team,” Isaac Oppermann said. “Making it here as an individual is cool, but to be here as a team is insane because it genuinely is the best 20 teams in the country.”

Portland’s Glendoveer Golf Course served as the host site for Saturday’s competition. Temperatures at the start of the race hovered around the low 40s, and rain persisted for the duration. The wet terrain presented no shortage of obstacles, as runners dodged puddles as they maneuvered around the course’s hills and bends.

“We came for a pre-meet yesterday, and it was sunshine and it was a flat course that looked amazing, and we got here (Saturday) morning and it was pouring down raining and muddy,” Bradbury said with a laugh. “But running on it was so fun. It was real cross country. Every step, you had to just think about what you were doing and where you were going because you could just fall at any instance. It was amazing.”

Two years separate Isaac and Theo Oppermann, as Isaac is a senior and Theo a sophomore. The brothers pushed each other throughout childhood, so it is only fitting they remained by the other’s side Saturday as they crossed the finish line.

“(Theo) had me the whole race until down the home stretch, and I was like, ‘I can’t let my younger brother beat me,’” Isaac said. “So I really booked it down the home stretch. It’s really special to have a brother who is really fast and really motivated who lives in the same house as you.”

Although the race was the main event during the group’s trip to the Pacific Northwest, the Little Lions enjoyed a host of activities that accompanied their appearance in the Beaver State. A workout at the Michel Johnson Track on Nike’s campus, a welcome ceremony and a meet-and-greet with Olympic 1,500-meter world-record-holder Cole Hocker were packed into the team’s four-day itinerary. Members of the Little Lions also received custom complimentary cross country gear from Nike.

“The event as a whole has been amazing,” Bradbury said. “We’ve gotten to meet pro athletes. We got to run with a pro athlete (Cooper Teare) who trains with Cole Hocker the other day for our run. We’ve gotten to go to the Nike headquarters. Nike has treated us amazingly — it’s been so fun.”

Saturday marked the conclusion of an acclaimed season that saw the Little Lions claim the PIAA Class 3A boys cross country championship in November. The victory in Hershey gave the boys program its first state crown since 1986.

The year has also brought its share of accolades for Donaghue, which included being named Pennsylvania Track and Field Cross Country Boys Coach of the Year. She’s also a finalist for the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Coach of the Year award.

“We thought the tougher the conditions, the better it was for us,” Donaghue said about Saturday’s performance. “I think it worked in our favor. We’ve competed on some really tough courses in some really bad conditions and they did well on those. They had the right mindset going in. They were obviously happy to be here, but they weren’t just content with being here. They wanted to take care of business and they had that mindset all the way through. As a coach, I couldn’t be prouder and more excited. It’s kind of a dream season for a coach.”

This story was originally published December 8, 2024 at 9:30 AM.