MIKE CRONIN '83

Cross Country, Track

The premier cross country and track performer in the history of the College, MIKE CRONIN is a two-time winner of the prestigious Worcester Cross Country Championship and still holds several indoor and outdoor track records.

Cronin is also a two time Most Valuable Player in cross country (1979, 1981) and a two-time Most Valuable Player in track (1980, 1982). He captained cross country, indoor track and outdoor track as both a junior and senior.

He began his career becoming the second non-WPI runner to win the prestigious Worcester City Championship in 1979 leading his team to its first city title. The only other non-WPI winner to that time had been his coach, former Worcester State standout Gary Jusseaume. Cronin's 31:06 time was eight seconds better than his teammate Kevin Cooledge '82. Ken Feather (Cumberland, RI) finished fourth, Ed Marcotte (Foxboro, MA) eighth, and Ken Kalil (Methuen, MA) nineteenth to lead the Greyhounds to a one-point victory 32-33 over 13-time defending WPI.

He completed a story-book freshman year by running 25th at the N.C.A.A. regional event at Shippensburg, PA University. In track he qualified for the Eastern Invitational as a freshman and ran a impressive 15:05 5,000-meter.

He repeated as champion in 1981 (after an injury-plagued 1980) . . . running an 'airport course' record 31:41 for the 6.2 miles as the Hounds won the Worcester title for the third time in four years beating WPI 20-49.

He finished second in the first Northeast-8 Conference cross-country championship with a 24:45 time at Franklin Park as the team finished third behind nationally ranked Springfield and Bentley. He capped the season finishing 45th in a deep field at the N.C.A.A. regional run-off at the University of Lowell.

Since graduation he has run a New York marathon in 1983 (2:28.06), ran a 14:21 5,000-meter at the Penn Relays in 1984. In two Falmouth Road Race appearances he finished 25th in 1985 (won by Bob Rodgers) and 22nd in 1986 (won by Frank Shorter). He has also run the Boston Marathon three times in 1994, 95 and 96.

Single he lives in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts and is the senior director of sales and marketing for Saucony, Inc.