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SPORTS INFORMATION—2009
CROSS COUNTRY'S YEUNG ADJUSTS TO COLLEGE LIFE...
CLEVELAND, OH (October 13, 2009) - Adjusting to college life is not an easy task for any freshman. For cross country runner Philip Yeung, the assignment is two-fold, as he also must deal with being the lone freshman as a top-seven runner on a Case Western Reserve University that looks to return to the NCAA Division III Championships while replacing five of its top six runners from last year. However, Yeung is taking the transition in stride.
“I was a little bit nervous, I didn’t know what to expect,” said Yeung. “I think the pre-season really helped me adjust to college. Before classes started we were just running, sleeping, and eating all day, so that was a nice transition period to get to know how the campus works before everyone else came here.”
Yeung actually thinks having cross country has helped him make the transition of moving away from home for college.
“I think the transition would be a lot more difficult without running in terms of finding a group of friends and learning how the campus works,” said Yeung. “The guidance of the upperclassmen really helps a lot. They really tell you what to expect from the professors since they’ve had them before. I guess I would be okay at other places, but having the team here helps.”
Case wasn’t the only school Yeung looked at in his college search. He also considered the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State University and Purdue University.
“I think the turning point was my visit here with the cross country team,” Yeung explained. “I was still unsure if I wanted to run in college and I knew Case was great in terms of academics, but I wasn’t sure about Case’s social and other living aspects. When I first visited everyone on the cross country team seemed really cool and they really made me feel like Case would be a great place to study and run.”
Yeung is studying mechanical engineering at Case Western Reserve. His father is also a mechanical engineer and works at a military engineering firm
“Before I knew what engineering was I was always playing with Legos, building things, and looking up the design of how things were built,” said Yeung. “I think (building) has always been a quality inside me and I’m just expressing it through engineering.”
Thus far, Yeung has had no problem balancing his studies with his training schedule.
“It’s really manageable since we only meet twice a week for workouts and the rest time it’s our own responsibility to go on distance runs,” explained Yeung. “I think it’s just been a manageable process and it really helps me balance my schoolwork well.”
People might think that racing cross country at the college level doesn’t take much adjustment from high school. However, a race in college is over 1.5 times longer than a high school meet.
“I’ve been trying to adjust to the new race, an 8K is a lot different from a 5K, it’s much longer,” said Yeung. “It’s kind of weird, in my first 8K after running through 5K I kept thinking to myself that I should have been done by now, but I still had 3K to go. So that first race was tough, but things are getting easier.”
Head Coach Kathy Lanese, the reigning University Athletic Association Coach of the Year, believes in Yeung’s talent and has put him in the top seven for all three team races thus far.
“Upon his arrival to Case Western I predicted Philip would be running as my top freshman,” said Lanese. “Philip is a determined competitor who is always asking intelligent training and racing questions. He has a desire to be a difference maker for this team this year. I know the best in Philip is yet to come.”
The lofty expectations for a freshman haven’t affected Yeung’s demeanor or racing.
“(The expectations) are kind of cool,” said Yeung, with a shrug. “Ever since high school I’ve always had high expectations from my coach, so for me this is nothing new. I just hope I can run with my teammates well and build up my team for the now and the future.”
In three races this season, Yeung has started off strong. His best finish came at the season opening Bill Sudeck Classic where he finished 11th of 81 runners in his first college race.
ABOUT CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY … Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826 and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research, service, and experiential learning. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally recognized programs in the Arts and Sciences, Dental Medicine, Engineering, Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Work. http://www.case.edu.