JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
CONESTOGA VALLEY DISTANCE SPECIALIST VINCE McNALLY HAS GIVEN A VERBAL COMMITMENT TO THE NITTANY LIONS, ACCEPTING PENN STATE’S ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP OFFER.
After making a list and checking it twice, Conestoga Valley senior cross country and track standout Vince McNally has made his college decision.
“I’m going to PSU,” McNally told the New Era. “I had it down to Penn State and Iona. My decision pretty much came down to those two, and Penn State came out on top.”
Why Happy Valley?
“The facilities and the education first,” said McNally, who has made a verbal commitment to the Nittany Lions, accepting Penn State’s athletic scholarship offer.
He will compete for the cross country team and for the indoor and outdoor track teams for Penn State, which competes in the Big Ten Conference.
“I also liked the atmosphere,” McNally said. “There is a lot going on up there, and I think I’ll fit in. Those were the biggest reasons. I just really love Penn State. I love everything it has to offer. I’ve always loved it.
“When you live in this area, it’s only natural that you follow Penn State. So I’ve always been very familiar with Penn State, and I’m always comfortable when I go up there. And I’m liking it even more every time I go up there.”
McNally, who also considered Syracuse and Virginia, said he also picked Penn State because the Lions have beefed up recruiting efforts for the cross country and indoor and outdoor track teams.
Last year, Penn State landed former Ohio and national champ Sam Borchers, who is one of the top one-mile racers in the country.
“They have the top guy in the nation in the mile from last year,” said McNally, who will sign his national letter of intent the first week of February.
“He was the national champ in indoor and outdoor in the mile in high school in the nation, so Penn State is definitely moving forward. They only finished ninth in the Big Ten in cross country this season, but they are making strides to get to the top, and that’s one of the reasons why I want to go there. I want to help them get there.”
McNally is having an unforgettable career running for CV.
In cross country, he’s won the last two league championships – including last month’s meet at Ephrata Middle School, when he won in a record 15:02.02 – and the last two District 3 Triple-A titles.
McNally’s final PIAA Meet didn’t end the way he envisioned. Battling flu-like symptoms last Saturday, he finished 18th in the state after finishing fifth there a year ago.
McNally spent the first two years of his high school career battling it out in cross country and on the track against Manheim Township twins Craig Miller and Brad Miller, who were winning practically everything in site.
Coincidentally, Craig Miller runs for Wisconsin, one of Penn State’s Big Ten foes. So McNally will be running into his old nemesis starting next fall.
McNally is hoping all of those races against the Millers and the experience of running in – and winning – so many big meets around here the last couple of years will have him ready for the rigors of a Division 1 program.
“This is a pretty good state for cross country,” McNally said. “Pennsylvania is legitimate for cross country, and District 3 is on the best districts in the state for cross country. So I’ve always had pretty good competition. I’ve never had it easy over the years. That can only help me when I get to Penn State.”
McNally has an entire track season – where he’ll concentrate on the 1,600, the event he won in the PIAA Triple-A Meet last spring – and at least one more cross country meet to go before hitting the road to State College.
On Nov. 24 in New York, he’ll compete in the Northeast Regional, where the top 10 finishers advance to Nationals later this year near San Diego. The top 15 finishers there earn All-American status in cross country.
“I’d love to run a good meet in New York and make it to Nationals,” McNally said. “I don’t want a repeat of what happened at the state meet, that’s for sure.”
