University of Minnesota Athletics
Captains Corner: Patty O'Brien
8/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
MINNEAPOLIS - Patty O'Brien is one of five Golden Gophers named team captain for the University of Minnesota women's cross country team's 2017 season.
O'Brien raced in six meets last fall and clocked a career-best time in the 5K at the Notre Dame Invitational with a time of 17:37.8. She made her second Big Ten Championship appearance where she placed 61st with a time of 22:45.3 and ran a season-best 6K time of 21:53.5 to place 97th as the sixth Gopher at the NCAA Midwest Regional. O'Brien collected numerous honors last season, including the Minnesota Big Ten Cross Country Sportsmanship Award, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, and Academic All-Big Ten. A native of Maplewood, Minn., O'Brien is an elementary education major.
O'Brien joins fellow captains Amelia Barczi, Bailey Ness, Paige Peschel, and Madeline Strandemo to lead this year's team. Before the season begins, O'Brien reflects on her journey as a Gopher so far and looks forward to the year ahead.
Gopher Sports: What does it mean to you to be named a captain?
Patty O'Brien: It's really special to be selected as a captain just because our team has so many good leaders. Everybody works so hard. To be able to be a leader for other girls who love our sport and work really hard at what we do is just really special.
GS: How would you describe your leadership style?
PO: I would say my leadership style is definitely by example. I like to go out and do what we're supposed to do, work really hard, and just give it my all, put in all my effort. I try to be an example leader and have other girls follow in my footsteps.
GS: What do you like most about cross country compared to track & field?
PO: I like that it's a big team. I mean, track is a huge team sport, too, but in cross country there's just one race and we're all doing it together. When you go out on the line, you're not just trying to get whatever place for yourself, you're racing to get a certain place so your team gets a higher score together -- everybody counts. Every person that you're fighting to beat, you're doing it for your teammates, which is really great.
GS: Personally, do you prefer cross country or track & field?
PO: Everybody always asks that question, and I just never know. I always say my favorite is whatever one I'm competing in at the time, so if I'm in cross season, I love cross country more and if I'm in track, I love track more. Because in college track has longer races, it has evened out for me that I love them both. Whatever one I'm in season for is my favorite!
GS: What do you think the most challenging thing is about running cross country?
PO: I think just getting out there and knowing you're not on a track where you can just click off laps and maintain a certain pace on a flat surface. You're going over hills, and all courses are different so you never know what you're going to get. You have the elements, too -- rain, mud, heat. You never know what to expect, and that definitely makes it challenging.
GS: Looking back on your career so far, how would you describe what it's like to be a Gopher?
PO: It's a lot of fun, and I love it a lot. Our program is the kind of program that takes girls and helps them keep growing both as a runner and as a person as you go through each stage and get older. Every year, everyone is always improving and you're always moving up as you get older. I'd say that's how my career has gone so far, you go from redshirting to un-redshirting, then you make the travel team, and you get to go to Big Ten meets. All of the coaches really help you keep improving, so it's really great.
GS: What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
PO: I would say my proudest moment was when our track & field team won the Big Ten outdoor meet. We all came in, gave it our best effort, and came away with a championships. We all worked so hard for it; we knew it was a possibility and we really wanted it. Going out there and doing it was really awesome. Our cross country team's streak of making it to nationals and always giving people a fight and a challenge is something I'm proud of, too.
GS: What are your goals for the cross country season?
PO: My goals for our team are to go out there in championship season and win Big Tens. We have the tools to do it, and we have all of our girls coming back who traveled last year. We're going to be even stronger this year. We want to go into regionals feeling good and get back to nationals and then show everyone what we can do. Individually, I just want to make an impact on the team and help the team improve, score points for us, and help us be our best throughout the championship season.
GS: What kind of classes are you taking this year?
PO: I actually finished my undergrad in three years because I had a lot of credits coming in from high school, so I'm in a master's program right now for elementary education. I'll be doing that and then probably do a certificate program next year for my fifth year. I've done a lot of practicum work already, mainly with older elementary grades. I think that's what I want to do, teach in the third to fifth grade world. However, in my master's program, I'm in a first grade classroom, so I'll get to see how that goes. I'm excited to work with them.
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Players Mentioned
