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- Heard Around the Track
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April 10, 2003
Breisch takes challenge of bigger school
Quakertown standout chooses La Salle
Story courtesy of Dom Cosentino, Staff Writer-
for The Intelligencer of Doylestown (Pa.)
BY DOM COSENTINO
Staff Writer
QUAKERTOWN - In considering what college to attend, Adam Breisch had to ask himself two questions.
Division II? "Pretty much at Division II schools," said Breisch, a Quakertown senior distance runner, "I would be one of the top runners." Division I? "At Division I," he said, "I'm not even close to being at the top." The challenge of being "not even close" to the top is what led Breisch to go the Division route. He recently made an oral commitment to run cross country and track for La Salle University on a partial athletic scholarship.
Breisch chose La Salle over Division II Shippensburg - where his brother, Joe, competes - and Kent State and Eastern Michigan of Division I. "I like having it tough," Breisch said. In the last two years, Breisch has established himself as one of the state's top distance runners. At last spring's PIAA Class AAA state track meet, he was third in the 1,600-meter run. In cross country last fall, he placed seventh at the states. This past winter, he was fourth at the PTFCA state indoor meet in the 1600.
Though unsure of what he wants to study at La Salle, Breisch will compete for an Explorers team that has won three of the last four Atlantic 10 Conference men's cross country titles. Breisch was particularly impressed with La Salle coach Charles Torpey. According to the school's Web site, Torpey coached three future Olympians in a 27-year career that also included a stint at the University of Maryland.
La Salle's track and cross country roster is also filled with a number of athletes from area high schools: Lee Benesette (North Penn), Tony Giammarco (Upper Moreland), Tim McAteer (Central Bucks
West), Mark Mullelly (Upper Moreland) and Patrick Norris (Upper Moreland).
Breisch has big goals for what's ahead in his final season on the track at Quakertown. He'd like to break 1 minute, 55 seconds in the 800 meters, 4:10 in the 1,600 - he ran a 4:14 at states last year -
and 9:20 in the 3,200. After that, the sky's the limit. Which is why he wants that
challenge."I really want to try to see if I can become an Olympic runner," he said.
Dom Cosentino can be contacted at dcosentino@phillyburbs.com.
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