Division II Caldwell University Men’s cross-country senior standout Joey Datta has been on a tear this year, winning five of six races so far this season. The last being the Central Atlantic Athletic Conference (CACC) Men’s Cross-Country Championships at Belmont Plateau Philadelphia, in a meet record time of 26:14.70.
The Edison High School graduate shattered the previous 26:23 mark set in 2012 this past Sunday.
Datta’s first place showing helped the Cougars Men’s team earn a second-place finish, its best in program history.
With the victory, the 21-year-old captured his third consecutive title and third CACC Runner of the Year honor.
Datta finished nearly a minute ahead of the nearest competitor.
Teammates senior Alfredo Oidor (Garfield, N.J.) came in seventh place at 27:52.08, while freshman Luke Molyneux (Ocean Township, N.J.) placed 13th at 28:31.61 to give the Cougars three All-Conference runners.
But it took a solid team effort for the Cougars to earn second overall, and the rest of the squad delivered with junior Chad Manning (Belleville, N.J.) taking 18th at 29:14.43, sophomore Alex Jamieson (Portree, Scotland) in 30th at 30:07.28 and sophomore Logan Kudla (Bloomfield, N.J.) in 33rd at 30:20.52. Freshman Nicholas Montiel (Totowa, N.J.) rounded out the Cougars’ performance in 52nd (33:39.49) place.
It is no wonder that Datta has achieved such brilliant success, as he participates in an insane training regimen. But he said he has diligently trained his body to perform at its best come race time.
“I like keeping my training interesting,” Datta said. “I do a lot of speed work. I prepared myself distance-wise in the summer. One week in the summer, I did 127 miles. Now, I do a lot of speed work. I do a healthy mix between speed and threshold work,” a specific workout wherein you run at and above your lactate threshold in order to improve your fitness levels by buffering lactate in skeletal muscle, according to sources.
“I pretty much run at an effort (pace) for one hour,” he explained. “It’s five minutes and 20 seconds per mile, which is around 11.00-11.50 miles in an hour. I also do 8X1000-meter runs, then jog for a minute in between. Initially, it was a shock to my system. But I’ve gotten used to it. It has been paying off.”
However, the intense training has come with a price. Datta has sustained three stress fractures, two as a sophomore, and one in his junior year. Each fracture pushed him to the sidelines for approximately six to eight weeks, but he bounced back in due course in a big way.
“I was able to win my conference that year,” Datta said of his junior season CACC win.
While his training can be backbreaking and time-consuming, Datta said he been able to effectively juggle his athletic, academic and personal pursuits due in large part to his coach, Kyle Price, someone, Datta said, who has helped guide him toward cross country notoriety.
“It’s such a delicate line, but that’s where a good coach helps,” the English literature major and pre-law and business double minor said. “He knows when to pull me back. If you peak too early, it’s not ideal. “If you peak too late, you might miss the big race. That’s the trick.”
Success aside thus far, Datta, although pleased with his performance, said he is not done yet ripping up the terrain, with another big race around the corner.
“I’m super happy with my results,” Datta exclaimed. “But I come to win. The works not done. I want to win regionals.”
The Cougars will compete on Saturday, Nov. 9th at the NCAA DII East Region Championship at Matt St. James Cross Country Trails in Rochester, N.Y.
— Jerry Del Priore
Photos: Caldwell University Athletic Department.
NY NJ Sports World/Brooklyn Sports World 