If you looked at where Cassondra O’Connor has placed in her first three races this season, it would be hard to believe that this is her first year ever doing cross country.

O’Connor is a sophomore aviation management major from South Park and has made a name for herself on the Point Park cross country team very early in this season. Placing first in her first race, sixth in her second and eighth in the Pioneers’ most recent race this past weekend, O’Connor is already on track to make a name for herself

She originally planned to come and play soccer for Point Park, but then eventually decided on joining the cross country team instead due to a recent academic decision.

“I decided I wanted to become an airline pilot and I changed my major and everything,” O’Connor said. “It was really hard for me to be able to still play soccer in the fall with my schedule because I live at home.” 

Last year, O’Connor was also a member of the track team in the winter and spring. Her decision to switch to cross country was influenced by her coaches from the track team, too.

“My track coach and my distance coach were like, ‘why don’t you just run cross country instead?’” O’Connor said. “I thought about it and I was like, ‘I never ran cross country before, but I am a distance runner.’”

Despite not knowing what to expect, O’Connor worked hard over the summer to build up her mileage to be prepared for the new experience.

In the midst of practicing and participating in races, O’Connor has been able to learn and grow personally via cross country, saying she has become more disciplined because of it. 

“It’s not easy always coming out everyday running miles on miles,” O’Connor said. “I just think that building that mindset and that athlete mindset, across the board all athletes have this discipline that they build up. [It] just [helps to] facilitate homework and studying, everything like that.”

At the West Liberty Invitational on Sept. 5, O’Connor’s very first cross country race, she took home first place and aided her team to secure fourth place overall. 

“I honestly didn’t even realize it,” O’Connor said. “It happened so fast. You just get so focused-in on a race and get tunnel vision.”

Not focusing on the other runners and focusing on herself was a key thing for O’Connor when leading this race. She said that she can only control what she does and not how the other runners train.

“As long as I’m giving my best effort, as long as I’m giving my full commitment to the race, that’s the only thing I can do,” she said.

Following her sixth place finish at the Robert Morris University Colonial Invitational on Sept.14, O’Connor and her teammate Luke McKenna were each named the Mountain East Conference Runners of the Week. Despite the announcement’s surprise to O’Connor, she isn’t focusing on the achievement. 

“I am technically a freshman in cross country, so getting that title and getting that little boost a little bit early was nice,” O’Connor said. “It’s nice to look back and be proud of what you did in the past, but you can’t focus on that because you just gotta work on the next thing. It’s important to just keep getting better and keep getting stronger.”

Even in the midst of the success, O’Connor discussed how one of the greatest challenges she faced so far in her first couple of races was confidence. Although, she said that keeping the right mindset to maintain her stamina makes it not so scary.

“I think it’s really easy, especially in 5k, 6k races to get lost in the race,” O’Connor said.

Her coaches have also helped her to teach her that if she or her team doesn’t have a perfect day, that’s alright. They tell her that it’s a “big picture kind of sport,” and that training over time builds an athlete’s performance.

“As an athlete, you always want to strive for perfection,” she said. “It’s really easy to focus in-on that and see the negative, [it’s helpful to not] focus so much on the little small details.”

Outside of cross country, O’Connor likes hanging out with her friends and family, but also finds great enjoyment in her major, aviation management. 

“My favorite thing to do is fly airplanes. Everyone thinks that’s crazy,” O’Connor said. “I mean there’s nothing better than being up in the sky and just learning how to maneuver your airplane in different ways.”

For the remainder of the cross country season, O’Connor doesn’t have any specific time goals she hopes to meet, but rather is looking to be a smarter runner at the end of the season and enjoy her time being a part of the team. 

“Honestly I wasn’t expecting to do anywhere near how I’m performing now,” O’Connor said. “I’m just focusing on spending quality time with my team, getting some good races in, building up my profile as a runner because I am still fairly young and new to the system so just getting myself comfortable and just learning every single race.”

O’Connor went on to say that she would not be able to do any of what she does without the support of her friends and family. Her parents are especially important, as they drive her to campus for practices and to her cross country meets in the early hours of the morning. 

“My mom and dad come to almost all my races. They love supporting me and the team, they love interacting with the team and being a part of the whole Point Park family,” she said. “If I was down or if I was feeling sad about something that happened, I knew that at the end of the day they were proud of me. They never worry about the time, they never care about place or performance, they just want me to be happy and they just want me to be the best athlete I can be. They do all that they can to support me.”

O’Connor hopes that she can one day give just a little back to her parents for everything that they gave her. 

O’Connor led the Pioneers once again at the Lock Haven Invitational this past Saturday, finishing in eighth place in the 6k with a time of 21:45.4. 

Point Park cross country will return to competition on Saturday, Oct. 5 at the 23rd Annual Greater Louisville Classic in Louisville, Kentucky.