Ending PU Men’s Track Career on High Note, Pons Took 9th in 10,000 at NCAAs With a PR
During his high school track career, Sam Pons learned there was no quick fix when it came to success in running.
“I came to really appreciate it,” said Pons, a standout at South Pasadena (Calif.) High who was the California state champion in the 3,200 in 2010 and also won a state Division III cross country title.
“You put in a lot of time and it takes a long time to see the benefits. It takes self sacrifice and figuring out what works. Once you see the work pay off, it is satisfying.”
Coming to Princeton University in 2011 and joining the Tiger men’s cross country and track programs, Pons didn’t see his hard work pay off over the first few years of college. Plagued by injury, Pons experienced uneven results.
“I got injured my freshman year and was hurt the majority of the season,” said Pons. “I ran cross country and had one race indoors and one race outdoors. I had hurt shins, I had a stress reaction in high school. I took more time than I needed to. It is something you learn; you have to deal with it. It was a big challenge.”
While Pons placed fifth in the 5,000 in the Ivy League Outdoor Heptagonal Championship in the spring of his sophomore and then took 15th at the Cross Country Heps in the fall of his junior year, he reached a crossroad coming into the summer before his senior season.
“The junior year outdoor wasn’t the greatest season,” said Pons. “I was a little shaken, I needed to get back into it. I went out to Park City, Utah to train with the guys at altitude. Things went great, I came into senior year in my best shape ever.”
Averaging 85-90 miles a week in Utah, Pons produced a superb senior season, taking third in the Cross Country Heps to help Princeton win the team title and then ending his career with a bang this spring by placing ninth in the 10,000 at the NCAA outdoor championships in a personal record of 29:17.54 to earn second-team All-American honors.
Pons could see the difference early on as he went to the head of the pack for the Tiger cross country squad.
“Most of that season was good, I was much more consistent in terms of racing,” said Pons.
“The Heps was a good race. I was trying to go for it and came on hard. I still got third and the team had a big win.”
Dealing with a sore knee late in the fall, Pons’ patience was tested again. “Towards the end of cross country season, I was racing through a knee injury,” said Pons.
“I took three weeks off for a small problem with my knee. I had a slow start in the winter, they didn’t take me to Indoor Heps. I didn’t deserve to go but it was a blessing in disguise. It may have put me in a better position because I didn’t have to peak for Indoor Heps. It can be tough to peak for that and then peak again in the spring.”
Starting the spring with a big win in the 10,000 at Princeton’s annual Larry Ellis meet gave Pons a jolt of confidence.
“I took a big step at the Larry Ellis meet, I had a big PR in 10k,” said Pons, who clocked a time of 29:35.78 in prevailing. “It was a testament to the training I did in the winter and early spring.”
Taking a step backwards with a lackluster performance in the 10,000 at the Outdoor Heps, Pons rebounded with a fifth place finish in the 5,000.
“I finished 10th in the 10,000 at the Heps, that was very disappointing,” said Pons. “It was a bad day, I wasn’t feeling into it. I came back in the 5k the next day and there was no reason I should feel pressure. I thought let’s give this a shot. It was a slow and tactical race. I put myself in a good position. I was pretty happy with how I did.”
Seeing the 10,000 as his best chance to reach the nationals, Pons was very happy with his effort at the NCAA East Regional at Jacksonville, Fla. which saw him take fourth overall in 29:54.15 to advance.
“That was huge, that was objectively the most impressive performance of my college career,” asserted Pons.
“Finishing the race, it felt almost easy. I was slowly building up and finally reached the point where I had the confidence and the racing ability. I was able to put it down.”
Punching a ticket to Oregon’s historic Hayward Field for the NCAA championships meant a lot to Pons.
“I always wanted to race there, I had read the books about Bowerman and Pre,” said Pons, referring to legendary Oregon coach Bill Bowerman and star runner Steve Prefontaine.
“It was awesome to be there. After my regional race, I knew what I had to do. Being All-American (with a top 8 finish) was on my mind. It was something Chris Bendsten had done the year before, he had been talking to me after regionals, saying you can do it. I saw how I finished at regionals and it was not out of the question. I was very comfortable and confident.”
In the 10,000 final, Pons displayed his comfort level, biding his time in the early stages of the race before surging to a ninth-place finish and a personal record by nearly 20 seconds.
“I knew I had to keep calm in the first half of the race at least, especially at nationals where it is all for the win,” recalled Pons.
“There are a lot of surges and recessions. People can get amped up. You don’t want to run the race in lane two and cover more distance, Coach Vig (Princeton cross country and distance coach Jason Vigilante) was saying calm, calm, even three and a half to four miles into the race. He kept saying stay cool and calm. It definitely helped me. Four guys separated, those guys are really good so it was let them do their thing. There was no point in killing myself to try to catch up with them. With 1,200 to go, I was in a pack of five in ninth place. I felt OK at that point. I thought everyone had something left. I didn’t have quite enough speed to catch one of them. I covered the last 400 in 60 seconds. I was confident that I could go under 29 minutes, I thought I had more.”
With college eligibility remaining due to the time he missed because of injury, Pons views his NCAA performance as a springboard to competing for another school and beyond.
“It was a huge step in the right direction for my goals in the future of training and racing professionally,” said Pons, who is looking at several programs and plans to start competing again in the indoor season.
“I still think there is more I could do. It was the first step in a journey. I had something to show for the work. There were plenty of things that I was happy about. To finish like that meant it was all worth it.”