“Thank you for choosing me as one of your interviewees for the year! I am an average runner at best, but I hope I made it interesting.” This quote is from Erica Koenig in response to her being requested to be featured in this article. Koenig is a two sport college athlete who is majoring in marketing with a minor in management information systems. Her goal is to work in the public relations field upon graduation in the Spring of 2020.

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This Penn State Behrend junior is far from average, and it will be evident throughout this piece that this young woman’s accomplishments, both as a runner and a student, are far from the norm.

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Koenig is a 2016 graduate from Baldwin Area High School, which is in the Pittsburgh area. Koenig had opportunities in her elementary school days to participate in a number of sports, but the one she was making the biggest impact in was running. “My dad (Eric Koenig) was a runner and helped me discover my passion and talent in this sport at a pretty early age,” Koenig commented. “My dad saw the potential for me to continue my running career and for my running career to take me somewhere in the future because of the great running program that Baldwin has in place,” she additionally stated. While her father helped play a major role in helping Koenig choose running, there have been a few coaches who have been a major component of her success.

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Baldwin cross country coach Richard Wright was one individual who helped Koenig reach the college level because of the positivity he surrounded her with in high school. She stated of her coach “Coach Wright was extremely encouraging both in running and also about my school work and other extra curriculars.”

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In addition to Coach Wright, Behrend track and cross country coach Greg Cooper has been a huge help to Koenig. “Coach Cooper is much like Coach Wright in that he wants all of us to do our best both in school and in our sport. He too is very positive and truly wants the best for all of the cross country runners and all of his track and field athletes as well,” Koenig stated. Coach Wright and Coach Cooper deserve a lot of credit for helping Koenig collect eight high school letters and four college letters to date. As for her academics and her positive attitude, Koenig truly has herself to thank.

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Koenig spoke about how cross country and track and field are often looked at as individual sports, but she made sure it was known they are more about the team than many people realize. Former Behrend cross country and track and field athlete Ian Griffith is one person Koenig spoke about who opened her eyes regarding this topic. “Ian is someone I looked up to in his time here because of his work ethic and his spirit. He constantly cheered myself and many other teammates on after he ran a super long race. His spirit was contagious, and I am glad to have known a team leader like him,” Koenig said.

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In addition, some of her teammates, who also happen to be her roomates, serve as a great influence to her. Caitlyn Plazony, Riley Crissman and Savannah Carr all motivate Koenig to have a solid work ethic as a student-athlete.

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Koenig has some fond memories at Behrend.There is one memory that she spoke about as being her favorite in her college career. In her freshman year, Koenig was scheduled to run the 10K in the CSAC Conference Meet when it began to downpour. “For some odd reason, I thrive in terrible running conditions. I ended up getting my personal best time by 5 minutes and helped us win a CSAC Championship, which was truly remarkable. It is a race I will never forget,” she stated.

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Koenig was an AMCC All-Conference last season in cross country and also has been selected as the Team’s Most Improved Runner, received AMCC Sportsmanship Award, and was a President's Honor Roll Selection. While she is a great runner, she is also a tremendous student with a terrific mindset, as evidenced by her accomplishments. These qualities will serve her well in her future.