Colorado State University Athletics
Getting to know CSU's Keyser, Rastall
9/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sept. 8, 2008
By Josh Kruger
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – With the men’s and women’s cross country teams having a week off before their next meet, CSURams.com sat down with two of the top performers from last weekend’s race to have a “get to know you” session.
Both Jake Keyser and Ellie Rastall posted the leading times for the Rams at the Wyoming Invitational, with Rastall winning the overall race and earning MWC Athlete of the Week honors. Each of them took some time to discuss individual and team goals for this season among other topics.
Jake Keyser
Keyser, 19, is from Central Point, Ore. After starring at Crater High School, he came to Colorado State last year and made an immediate impact, earning MWC Freshman of the Year honors. Last weekend, he finished third overall at the opening race of the season in a time of 22 minutes, 18.5 seconds.
On comparing this year’s team to last year’s
“I would say that this year’s team is miles ahead of where last year’s team was. We actually just had a workout on Tuesday that we couldn’t even finish last year. This year, everybody improved on last year’s times.”
On the team’s hopes this year
“I can definitely see our team pushing for that second spot in conference, finishing Top 2. It’ll be tough, but we definitely have the guys that can do it this year.”
On his thought’s about last week’s race, both individually and as a team
“I thought it was a great start to the season. I think it was a 40-second personal record for me on that course, so it was great for myself. Then for the team to get the win, that was a really good start. We were kind of hoping for that, so we should have been able to win that meet if we ran like we were supposed to. We had some good days, and we had a few off days, but overall it was a great team performance.”
On what he can do this year after winning Freshman of the Year last year, and any individual goals for this season
“I’d like to shoot for one of the all-conference spots, so Top 7, I believe, in the conference. Maybe Top 25 in the regionals. Also, I’d like to try and shoot for an individual spot in the nationals, but hopefully the team will make it.”
On any team goals for this season
“Obviously, securing one of the top two spots in the conference. We’d also like to get Top 5 or 6 in the region. That should qualify the team for nationals.”
On whether he considers himself a leader on the team, despite being only a sophomore
“I do. We’re a very young team this season. Coach told me earlier this year that if we were going to rank a freshman as a one and a senior as a four, we have an average of 2.2. So we’re pretty much averaging sophomores on the team, and we have maybe two seniors who are graduating this year. So, I do see myself as a leader on this team.”
On his thoughts about this weekend’s home race
“We’re excited about the race. We didn’t run all that well last year at our home meet, so we see this as our redemption day. We have some different teams coming in, such as Western State, and we have some guys who transferred here from Western, so it will be fun for them. If we run well like we have been, it should go really well. So all in all, we’re excited for it.”
On a fact that many fans might not know about him
“It’s funny, I was actually thinking about this on my way over here. How about that I was the Southern Oregon Conference hockey Player of the Year two years in a row. I played center. I still play hockey here and there for fun, but cross country and track takes up most of my time.”
Ellie Rastall
Rastall, 19, is a redshirt freshman from Fort Collins, Colo. After graduating from Rocky Mountain High School, she joined the Rams last year, when as she outlines, she used her redshirt year as a great learning experience. This experience has paid immediate dividends, as she won the race last weekend in a time of 14:49.5.
On what she took from last weekend’s race
“I think the team did an awesome job. It was our first meet of the year, and we’re such a young team. We lost some girls last year, and we have some girls dealing with injuries right now who I think are coming back, which will be awesome. But we’re so young, so it was really encouraging to see everybody race as a team and to see the new freshmen go out there and run for us.”
On what she can do for an encore after winning her first race as a Ram and being named MWC Athlete of the Week
“I don’t know. Those two things happening like that all of a sudden are just such a blessing. It’s just very encouraging to see that individually and to see what that could do for our team.”
On any individual goals she has for this season
“I would like to be on the all-conference team, which I think is Top 7 in the conference. As well, I’d like to be on the all-region team, which is the top 12. Things like that, but more importantly, to be able to contribute to the team as much as possible and try to be a good team leader.”
On her outlook for the team this year
“I think we can do really well. I think it really is just an attitude for us. We just need to stay positive, train smart, and train as a team. Basically, just keep that team mentality, rather than an individual one.”
On what she picked up about the team and Bryan Berryhill while she redshirted last year
“Coach Berryhill is just awesome. Redshirting last year was difficult, but I still think that everything happens for a reason. When any athlete redshirts, they learn so much. Even though you’re not out there competing, you still need to be there for your team. Watching what the girls did last year was just incredible. Coach Berryhill really brought a lot to the team, and he is going to do some awesome things.”
On her impressions of the training camp from a few weeks ago
“Training camp was awesome! It was so much fun up there, getting to know everyone. It’s really good, especially for the freshmen, to incorporate them into the team quickly. Names and simple things like that, you learn that so quick. And then you spend so much time getting to know everyone, that by the time we got back here I felt like I had known everybody for years.”
On her thoughts of the race this weekend
“I think it will be exciting to be here in Fort Collins and out at Hughes. It’s always fun to race at your home course. It’s great for parents, too, because they get to come see us race, and a lot of us are local. My parents are going to come and watch, so that’s pretty exciting. It’s all so exciting. I’m just so excited to see our team race again.”
On a fact that many fans might not know about her
“Every summer, my family and a bunch of other people get together and climb what we call ‘five summits’ in a day. It’s up near Pingree Park, where we actually had our training camp this year. We climb five mountains in a day, and it’s 26 miles. This year was my fourth year and Allison (Gohl) went with me this year, and also one of the guys on the team came with us, too. That was a really good experience for all three of us. So I guess that’s kind of unique.”
CSURams.com would like to thank both Keyser and Rastall for their time. Check back the next time the teams have a week off for more.