Jonathan Scheiner leads Miami’s Men’s Cross Country team with a career best time of 24:57:77 over eight kilometers at the Auburn Invitational on Sept. 30. Scheiner had the third fastest time over an eight kilometer race in University of Miami history.
The Hurricane sat down with Scheiner about the team’s success and his personal achievements at Miami.
The Hurricane: What goes through your mind knowing that you ran the third fastest eight kilometer time in school history?
Jonathan Scheiner: I was thrilled to run a time like that. I didn’t even know if I would make the team when I came here and to do something like that is really special. I had extra motivation too because it’s my last year running in a competitive college sport. To be put in the same sentence as two other good runners in history is a nice honor.
What areas have you worked on to improve from past years?
I felt like I needed to be a tougher racer and have better tolerance of pain. Coach [Mike] Ward’s program trains you very hard and helps build up your endurance to a high level. I have been very lucky that I have been injury free, which has allowed my hard work to pay off. Staying healthy and having four years of consistency has helped my success.
The team finished fifth out of 17 teams at the Florida Invitational and sixth out of 21 teams at the Auburn Invitational. What has been the difference for the team’s success thus far?
We have had a lot of experienced players return. We have four seniors on the team that have been around and understand what their role is in Coach Ward’s program. It helps that we have many talented sophomores that run well. I think the team has set goals and we realize that we have the ability to meet the expectations.
What is your relationship with your teammates and how much does that play in the team’s success?
The team has been very close and I believe a much tighter group than years before. I live with four teammates and we’re very good friends. We do everything together from running to hanging out. The team has built up very good chemistry because we all know each other well.
Who influenced you to run cross-country?
I had a friend that I played soccer with in middle school that ran track and he thought I would be good at it. At first, I began running long distance track and helped our team win district events. Since I had so much success, I decided to stick with it.
What was your primary reason you chose the University of Miami over other schools?
I liked the academic package that I would receive here. Also, Coach Ward was very optimistic about me running here. He really wanted me other than any other coach that had recruited me. That encouraged me to hear that.
What are your future plans after you graduate?
I hope to pursue a career in investment banking. I am a double major in Finance and Economics so I am headed in that direction. But, I will never give up running. I plan on running a marathon at some point because I always have that competitiveness.
Alex Kushel may be contacted at a.kushel@umiami.edu.