Malik Keresey is a Graduate Assistant and two-sport athlete at New England College. Keresey runs for the cross country team and is in his senior season. Keresey came to NEC as a wrestler, but was recognized by the former cross country coach, Steve Creightonberg and joined the team the next season.
“Steve, the previous coach, walked up to me, he’s like ‘Hey, you look like a runner,’ I was like ‘Okay’ and since then I’ve been doing cross country here. It’s been pretty fun,” Keresey said.
Creightonberg and Molly Bieksha have both coached Keresey during his time at NEC, but both have left. The team is currently coached by Izzy Edwards, a Graduate Assistant.
Even though Keresey loves to run, he says that the coaching issue has influenced the team dynamic.
“We’ve gone through three coaches,” Keresey said. “In some cases it’s hard to keep that same dynamic you have as a team from one coach to another.”
Although losing and replacing coaches has been difficult for the team, Keresey overcomes these challenges each year due to his long-standing love for running. He particularly loves trail running.
“I prefer that a lot better than the track. You’re out there and the rest of the world doesn’t matter. And you’re doing your thing,” Keresey said. “You kind of feels like you’re just flying through the woods.”
Though he enjoys it, running distances as long as 10 miles is not a normal occurrence for the human body according to Keresey. So, his advice for a long race is to have some sort of electrolyte or energy-proficient snack such as runner gels to keep the body going.
Now in his final season, Keresey has looked back on his highs and lows while on the team.
“For me, it was this one at Keene State. It was really flat, super fast, so I got to have my best time, which was like 30 minutes flat for an 8k. This year, I’m hoping to get down below the 30-minute mark,” Keresey said.
Overall, Keresey is thankful for his time with the NEC cross country team and has enjoyed taking part in something that he loves for the past few years.
