Alex Fox with answers provided by Dominic DeLuca
Recently, I wrote a piece detailing my belief of why distance programs at Ivy League schools are on the upward trajectory towards national prominence; the post was actually picked up by the conference’s (Heps Conference) Twitter page, and was shared with thousands of followers, which I thought was pretty cool (well, as cool as it gets for a running blog). In the piece, I mentioned that a possible drawback of being an Ivy League runner would be finding the balance between academics and training. It is true that I do run a fair bit at school, but not being on the team, I am not the most qualified authority on this topic. Luckily, thanks to email, I was able to reach out to someone who is!
For most of you, Dominic DeLuca needs no introduction, but just in case, here’s a quick refresher and update. DeLuca graduated from Dallas High School in Pennsylvania in 2014, and is entering his sophomore year at Cornell. While in high school, the Dallas stud made waves all across the state throughout his career; his senior campaign featured a victory at AA States for Cross Country and a 20th place finish at the Northeast Footlocker Regional, a second place finish in the 3k at Indoor States, and an outdoor season that saw top 5 finishes at Shippensburg, Henderson, and Penn Relays, two District 2 AAA titles, and a 5th place finish in the 3,200 at states. Upon joining Cornell’s team, DeLuca made an immediate impact, as he won his first ever collegiate cross country race; DeLuca’s freshman campaign included a 4th place finish at Ivy League Heptagonal Cross Country Championships and a top 20 finish at NCAA Division I Northeast Region Cross Country Championships, and his outdoor track season included a 14:25 5k at Penn Relays. At Cornell, DeLuca studies Applied and Economic Management in the School of Agriculture and Life Sciences. As a totally unbiased student in a different school at Cornell, I can undoubtedly say that ILR IS MUCH BETTER THAN AEM! After a truly outstanding freshman year, Dominic was kind enough to share his experiences about deciding to attend an Ivy League school to run at and what it has been like maintaining academics and the other aspects of his life while still training.
What was your experience like as a Student-Athlete in high school? How much of an emphasis did you put on your academics and to what degree did you consider yourself as a runner first?
I want to first thank you, Alex, for making this interview possible and Jarrett for hosting this great blog. A large part of my childhood consisted of playing soccer. I started playing when I was around 4 years old and had always considered it my passion. If not for persistent coaches and teammates, I would still be enjoying myself on the pitch today. Sophomore year of high school was when I officially started my journey as a “full-year runner”. This was also the year my life had completely changed, both academically and athletically. As I am sure anyone who is reading this blog would know, running is a very demanding sport that takes both determination and time. In high school, I would say that I matched the time and effort I put into running with my classes and studies. I strived to be the full package.
How did you decide on Cornell? What other schools were you looking at? How much of your decision was based on academics and how much weight did you place on Cornell’s distance program?
I chose Cornell for a few reasons, probably the same reasons that anyone would choose a school just weighted differently. The three big categories that I considered when choosing a college were their academics, athletics, and financial help. Without being over-biased, I would just like to say that Cornell covers each category exceptionally. Their undergraduate business program (AEM), which I am in, is one of the best programs in the world. Cornell also does an excellent job with financial help, giving any qualified student the opportunity to attend. If I had to weigh my decision to attend Cornell, I would say that 60% of it was due to their academics and 40% was due to their distance program. I was being seriously recruited by a majority of the other Ivy League schools, as well as Syracuse and Villanova. I love Cornell and would not trade a life at any of these other schools for it.
What kind of opportunities, both in and out running, have you had because you attend Cornell?
I am very grateful for all of the opportunities that I have been given over the past year. Cornell is blessed with an exceptional coaching staff that tends to focus on developing student-athletes into talented competitors. Being at an Ivy League school is unique for the fact that we are unable to red shirt unless medically cleared to do so. As a result, I feel that the League’s coaches must take extra care with training and injury prevention because redshirting is not an option if you are “having a bad season”. This has given me the opportunity to compete against some of the nation’s best runners as a freshman.
In regard to the academic side, I have met some of the most wonderful and powerful connections in the world. I’ve met a handful of Wall Street executives, investment bankers, as well as sons and daughters of owners of large corporations and sports teams (Manchester United for example). When pushing through my first year at Cornell, I really tried to take advantage of every opportunity I was given or connection I made.
Take me through your typical weekday; How much time to allocate to your academics, practice, rest, and other activities?
My typical weekday is very similar to what I would imagine any distance runner would say at another school. I generally start classes around 8:40am -10:00am (I will never have anything earlier than 8:40am). I try to fit in as much work as I can throughout the day so I am not overwhelmed at night. Organization is one of my strong points as a person, which lets me stay on top of my schedule and workload. After a few hours of classes I generally grab lunch either with my girlfriend (who is also on the team), or with some of my other teammates. Practice starts at 4:30 pm and usually ends anywhere from 6:00-7:30pm depending on the day. After practice I grab dinner with my team and then either go to the library or back to my dorm to hang out. On average, I probably spend 3-5 hours a night on academics, 2-3 hours on practice, and I try to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. I’m in bed by 1:00am at the latest.
Being a college runner is more than going to practice, it’s an entire lifestyle. What are the most significant differences you’ve noticed between you and your peers who aren’t living the life of a distance runner?
I first want to preface my answer by saying that Cornell is a very healthy campus with very healthy people. One thing I have noticed that is different between my lifestyle and some of my non-running peers is their ability to not care about how poorly they treat their bodies. Many of my peers treat their bodies as if they were disposable and they pay the price. Going out 3-4 nights every week, not getting enough sleep, eating incorrectly are all things I see within my peers. I have come to love the lifestyle I live as a distance runner; it has become normal to me.
What strategies have you applied to manage your time between running and everything else?
iStudiez Pro. A huge part of both my academic and athletic success this past year came from this one single application. I highly recommended this particular app or another similar one. iStudiez Pro is an all-in-one application that syncs your calendars, assignments, classes, and grades onto your phone, tablet, or laptop. It was an essential part of surviving at Cornell. I would input my assignments, meet schedule, grades, ect. at the beginning of the year so I would not lose track of anything. It worked perfectly.
How much has being able to compete against runners like Tommy Awad and train with guys like James Gowans helped you grow as a runner?
Runners like Tommy Awad, Kevin Dooney, Curtis King, are all guys I look up to. They are all phenomenal runners with much better running resumes than I currently have. I look forward to competing and growing with them, in hopes to be on the same level, if not better someday. I try to pick up on training tips or tendencies they have to make myself a better runner.
I owe a huge thanks to my team for my success this year. Guys like David Melly, James Gowans, Connor Herr, and Brian Eimstead, Jonny Phillips are all teammates that I consider role models. They brought me in as their own and treated me like family. These are relationships that I will have for the rest of my life. They opened my mind to new training philosophies that have changed the way I run and think about running. I can’t thank these guys enough.
Based on your experiences over the past year, what kind of potential do you feel Heps has to grow into a powerhouse conference for distance running, in terms of both depth and talent?
The Heps are unlike any other meet I have been to before. Just imagine 8 teams that have rivalries with each and every other team. I remember running Princeton’s course in cross country and just being engulfed in a wall of sound for the whole 8k. It was nothing like I have ever experienced before.
I believe this conference being how competitive it is, has enormous potential. I can already see the movement happening. 9:20 2-mile recruits turn into 9:00 guys, 4:20 mile guys turn into 4:10s. The movement is slowly occurring but watch out for the Ivy League in another 3-5 years. I’ll just leave that there.
You had a very strong freshman year which should provide a solid base for the rest of your collegiate career. What are the goals moving forward?
One of my main goals for the rest of my collegiate career is to become a smarter runner. I got injured this winter which then resulted in a mediocre indoor and outdoor track season. Collegiate running is a completely different animal than high school running. That being said, I need to constantly be smart with my training so I can prevent any future injuries from occurring. One of my main goals this summer is to get stronger. I’m lifting 3 times a week and completely fixing my diet. I’m looking to gain lean muscle and develop my fast twitch muscle fibers. Overall, I am just looking forward to becoming a much stronger and versatile runner.
What advice would you have for a high school runner thinking about committing to a program in the Ivy League?
One of the biggest pieces of advice I have for any runner trying to commit to an Ivy League program is to not let it scare you. People get this misconception of what an Ivy League school is really like, the academic rigor that goes along with athletics. I know I did. I wasn’t a 4.0 GPA student in high school and I wasn’t even close to a perfect score on my SAT’s. I was an average high school student with a gift: a gift which I used to get into Cornell. The academic resources that a student-athlete receives at an Ivy League school are unparalleled. There is a reason that the Ivy League schools have some of the highest retention rates among colleges in the world. They care about you, they want you to succeed. The most important piece of information that I hope you take away from this interview is that you should not miss out on an opportunity such as an Ivy League education because you are scared of it. Becoming an Ivy League student-athlete is a decision that will most likely affect the rest of your life in a POSITIVE way. I know it did for me.
Please let me know if you have any questions, honestly do not be afraid to ask. My email is dd462@cornell.edu , you can also add me on Facebook.
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