The RoundHouse | 9/1/2018 1:54:00 PM

 
AUGUSTA, Kan. - Zack Penrod considered himself a track guy who tolerated cross county because it was expected of distance runners.
 
It took a year or two for him to figure out that the top runners are both – cross country success and track success are connected, even if the events are distinct.
 
"In cross country, you need to be a lot more mentally tough, you need to be a lot more of a team player," Penrod said. "There are a lot of times when you hit three miles in a five-mile race and you're thinking 'Maybe I should slow down, maybe I should pull up just a little bit.' You've got to push through those moments."
 
On Saturday, Penrod finished second in the JK Gold Classic university men's 6-kilometer race with a time of 18 minutes, 55.5 seconds at 4 Mile Creek Resort. He was the highest college finisher, following unattached Joe Moore with a time of 18:15.6. For the first meet of the fall, Penrod, a redshirt junior from Raytown, Mo., is in the expected role at the front of the pack.
 
In his first three years at Wichita State, Penrod established himself in track, winning the American Athletic Conference indoor mile and finishing second in the American outdoor 1,500-meter run and the Missouri Valley Conference indoor 800 in 2017.
 
He ran cross country without the same investment.
 
"Maybe, freshmen year, I was dreading the next race, just thinking how I could get through this," he said. 
 
That is no longer good enough for Penrod. 
 
"I was never really great at cross in high school," he said. "Finally, I just didn't like getting beat. I wanted to be a team player. I wanted to contribute to the team as much as I can. So I decided I needed to step up my cross country game."
 
Teammate Dray Carson, a senior from Ness City, watched Penrod take on the longer distances and mature into a runner who wanted to battle through the miles. He watched Penrod up his weekly mileage from 50 to 70-80 to prepare for the cross country season.
 
"He kind of lacked confidence in cross country," Carson said. "He embraced the sport and started to love it more."
 
Penrod's mental-toughness tactic is to think about his teammates – not weary legs, heat, cold or labored breathing – when he hits a turning point.
 
"The team atmosphere in cross country is unrivaled," he said. "It's good to think about your teammates instead of yourself. It helps you to not think about the pain, not think about how tired you are."
 
Wichita State needs that focus from Penrod, who is expected to keep the Shockers packed together and running hard during meets. Their strength is depth, not star runners, and they need runners such as Penrod to help pull others along.
 
"You saw him (Saturday), he was looking around and helping his teammates out, doing everything he could to keep them going," Wichita State coach Kirk Hunter said. 
 
It is cross country season and Penrod is excited to run, just as he will be in the spring for track.
 
"You can't just be great in one," Hunter said. "He determined he was going to be a great cross country runner, and since that moment he's never said anything different. I love that mentality."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.