First Posted: 2/24/2015
In many cases, to be a cross country runner you have to be intelligent. You have to know when to push yourself — and know when to stop.
That’s not that difficult for Marrisa Durako and Tim Lambert.
Durako, a sophomore at King’s College and a Laflin native, and Lambert, a King’s senior and Wyoming native, were each named to the Middle Atlantic Conference Fall Sports All-Academic Team as part of the King’s College Cross Country teams.
Student-athletes are selected based on a combination of academic success as well as their achievements as athletes. Athletes must have a 3.2 overall grade-point average to be considered. Both Durako and Lambert didn’t have any problem with that.
Durako finished the fall semester with a 3.98 GPA in the King’s Physician Assistant program. She’s been on the dean’s list for each of her first three semesters. In 2014, she was named to the MAC Academic Honor Roll.
Balancing cross country and athletics is tough, but it’s worth it, she said.
“It’s definitely tough, but it’s doable,” she said. “I knew I wanted to run and wanted to still study to be a physician assistant. I knew it would be tough. Doing cross country would keep me in line. You just have to manage your time right.”
Running, however, is a way for Durako to unwind and slow down from the fast-paced college lifestyle.
This past season, Durako finished fifth at the MAC Championships, which was the highest placing for any female runner in King’s history. She finished seventh in the 2013 championships as a freshman.
“That was really exciting,” she said. “MACs are always what we strive to do our best for each year. I was really nervous and didn’t know what to expect.”
Her season-best time of 16:03.39 in the 4K, was at the Dickinson Long Short. In her first two seasons, Durako has been named to the All-MAC first team twice.
Thanks to a study abroad trip to Spain and Moracco last summer, and an illness, Durako didn’t have the chance to fully train for this past fall season. She had a nice finish to her freshman year — a seventh place mark at the MACs. But now she’s looking forward to that full offseason to train.
“I was nervous about this year because I didn’t know if I could repeat that,” she said. “I’m excited to see where it could go. I’m not sure where my limits are. My ultimate goal is to go to nationals.”
Lambert is studying accounting at King’s. He’s been named to the MAC Academic Honor Roll three times.
On the course for the Monarchs, the senior placed 23rd in last fall’s MAC Championships, his best 8K time of the season. It was a 27:05, which was his personal best. His 23rd-place finish was out of 174 runners.
Lambert also posted a season best 4K time of 13:28.76 at the Dickinson Long Short, as well as a 17:51.68 in the 5K Misericordia Invitational.
“I though it went very well for my senior season,” Lambert said. “I missed the top 20 by eight seconds. I put a lot of work in and it paid off in the end.”
A captain since his sophomore season, Lambert was one of the leaders for the King’s club. The Monarchs were led by freshman Ben Seigle from Tunkhannock, the team’s No. 1 runner. Seigle was named the MAC Rookie of the Year. Along the way, Lambert was his mentor.
Lambert was the team’s No. 2 runner. He took Seigle under his wing.
“I knew the ropes,” Lambert said. “I kind of took him under my wing and we worked together. We were pretty pumped about that. I’ve never done something like that before.”
Though his career is finished at King’s, Lambert will continue to train. He’s expected to compete in the Scranton Half Marathon in April. He will compete in his first full marathon this November in Philadelphia.
In December, both King’s men’s and women’s cross country teams were named to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III Cross Country All-Academic Teams for the fifth consecutive year.
The women’s squad was one of nine programs in the Middle Atlantic Conference to be recognized. The women posted a 3.66 team GPA, which is tied for the highest GPA in the MAC with Lycoming College. Misericordia University and Wilkes University also made the list.
The men’s team was one of four MAC programs to be recognized along with Lebanon Valley, Lycoming, and Wilkes. Their 3.24 team GPA was also the highest of any conference program.
