Kutztown, PA (October 2, 2009)
– Kutztown University senior
Ben Loht (Lewistown/Indian Valley) started the 2009
season with a bang. He won the Maroon and Gold Invitational on
Sept. 12th, and came in first for the Golden Bears at
the Iona Meet of Champions on Sept. 19th. With a week
off to focus on training for this weekend’s Lehigh Valley
Invitational, Loht knows the importance of this race, and says
he’s ready for the challenge.
“This competition will have all the PSAC (Pennsylvania State
Athletic Conference) schools competing against each other,” Loht
said, “This is our chance to prove something to everyone else
who doubted us. We didn’t lose anybody from last year. We’re
working hard in practices and progressing. It’s showing in our
times.”
Loht and the rest of his Golden Bear teammates get the
opportunity to quiet their doubters when the meet begins at noon
on Fri. Oct. 2 at Lehigh University. Over 60 schools are
expected to compete. Within the Division II race, over 20
schools will be testing Loht and the Golden Bears.
Loht is all about the team. When asked about his individual
performance, he quickly turned it into a team performance
response, stating teammate
Kevin Rodgers (Clifton Heights/Upper Darby) continues
to push him past his potential.
Eli Weeks (Pottstown/Owen J. Roberts), (a red-shirt
last season), and the addition to the four strong-running
freshmen, have allowed the team to perform well in the first
half of the season.
A transfer from Penn State University, Loht entered the cross
country world his freshman year of high school. A star athlete
at KU in outdoor track as well, Loht’s first love was basketball
in high school.
“My brothers both did it so I wanted to try it,” Loht said. “I
just so happened to be better than them (his brothers), and the
only one to follow through with it to college. I played
(basketball) so much that I just got burned out.”
Last season, Loht who also competes in winter and outdoor track,
broke his heel at his first steeplechase competition. He missed
the entire spring 2009 season.
“It was a little weird trying to run after coming back from that
injury,” Loht said, “I could only run for maybe 20 minutes at a
time.”
Loht has proven the breaking of his heel hasn’t hampered this
season’s performance. Working hard in the off season, Loht
averaged 80-90 miles a week as part of his summer workout
schedule. His hard work has paid off. At the Maroon and Gold
Invitational, Loht finished first overall with a time of 27
minutes 49 seconds. He placed in the top 100 at the Iona Meet of
Champions with a time of 27:22.
When he’s not running through a muddy course, Loht spends most
of what little free time he does have studying and working on
projects for his communication design classes. Taking a few less
credits lets him focus more on getting the better grade in his
classes, and he finds he performs better as a runner.
“It was tricky trying to balance classes, projects, and
athletics,” Loht said. “I’m pulling a lot of late nights, but
it’s something I’ve grown acclimated to. When it comes down to
it, it really is all about prioritizing.”
The Lehigh Valley Invitational begins at noon on Friday, October
2.
--KU--
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