Cross country
Favorite athlete: Jimmy Gressier
Favorite team: Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Penn Relays 4 x 800
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing: I ran at Nike regionals my sophomore year and everyone gets out fast because the course narrows fast. About 50 meters in to the race, I was getting pushed around and fell over, putting me in dead last.
Music on playlist: Light rock like Red Hot Chilli peppers to relax before races
Future plans: I'm going to Penn State to run next year.
Words to live by: "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift" - Steve Prefontaine
One goal before turning 30: I want to finish an iron man.
One thing people don't know about me: I hate running by myself.
By GORDON GLANTZ
In a running family, the words and wisdom of 1972 Olympian Steve Prefontaine ring true for Council Rock North’s Matt Gosling.
The quote, found on a poster on the wall of his older brother, Jack, reads: "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."
Gosling, a premier distance runner, has absolutely not sacrificed the gift.
“It’s a great thing to live by,” he said.”Before every race, I just say to myself, ‘You don’t come out here to run an okay race, you came out here to run a great race.’ I think it’s just good motivation.”
What that mental approach has led to is a reputation as one of the premier distance runners in the state, if not the whole region.
Gosling, who finished second in the state as a junior in cross country and seventh this past year, will be heading to the Brooks Northeast XC Championships later this month with the chance to progress once again to the next level in San Diego.
While he is not a fan of running by himself, Gosling finds himself doing just that now.
“He is heading up to a big regional meet in Boston in three weeks, so he is kind of working out by himself,” said Council Rock North coach Dave Marrington. “There will be 25-30 state champions on the starting line, from all those different states, and 10 of those guys will get to go to San Diego for the national finals. He got to go last year. He made that final.”
Gosling is challenging himself, in lieu of teammates, in his workouts.
“Right now, I’m training for Brooks, but my whole team is gone,” he said. “It’s just my coach, and I’m just running in circles. It’s just hard, mentally.”
Nonetheless, Gosling is aware of what the hard work can lead to.
“Technically, I’m the fastest one returning,” he said. “I know all these kids that I ran against last year, and they are all going to these great schools. It’s nice to be one of those people.”
Off his Plate
Gosling was able to get his college decision off his plate in September by choosing Penn State University.
“It’s good that he has that out of the way for winter track and spring,” said Marrington.
According to Gosling, Penn State sold itself.
“I was talking to a few coaches, but the Penn State coach was just a really nice person,” said the math whiz who plans to major in finance. “The whole team was really nice to me. I went up there for a visit. I went to a football game, and I just really fell in love with the campus. After that visit, it was really a pretty easy decision for me. I knew that was where I wanted to be for the next four years.”
Marrington praised Gosling for being a strong leader as tri-captain of a Rock North squad that won a state title when he was a sophomore, a pinnacle that hangs out there.
“He has goals,” the Rock North coach said. “He wants to be on state championship team again before he graduates.
“He has always been a really good student. He got a 1450 on the SAT, and that’s on top of being one of the better runners in Pennsylvania.
“We elect our captains, so the kids voted for him. He does what he needs to do, mostly just with making sure the kids are getting to practice on time and doing what they are supposed to be doing outside of school. A lot of it is reminding them that we are part of a team and not to do anything stupid.”
Peak Moments
Career highlights for Gosling include running a personal best at the storied Penn Relays and state titles as a sophomore in cross-country and the 4x800 relay.
This past cross country season, Gosling won the individual league title, was second in districts and seventh in states.
All big accomplishments, considering Gosling was not a prodigy at Rock North when he arrived.
“Freshman year, he was OK, but nothing really stood out about him,” Marrington said. “Even in his sophomore year, he did pretty well, but he was still probably our third or fourth sophomore that year. Last year, as a junior, is when he really started to break out in cross country and in the indoor and outdoor track seasons.
“He puts in a lot of miles. He is kind of a student of the sport. Cross country and track are very individualistic. What might work for one kid won’t work at all for another kid.”
Marrington added that Gosling has a full comprehension of what he does and doesn’t need to do.
“By the time you are a senior, you should be able to tell me what you need more of and what you need less of,” said the longtime coach. “That’s what we do, and Matt is really good at saying, ‘Hey, I need more tempo work,’ or ‘I need more fast stuff on the hills.’ You get a real feel for it. That’s what he does.”
Gosling added that a lot of it was just growing into his own body.
“Freshman year, I was pretty good, but there was a lot of room for improvement,” he said. “I just kept getting better every year. This year, I haven’t gotten that much better, but I know I’m in better shape.
“One thing is growing pains. It’s hard on your body to run 50 miles a week and to grow and take the brunt of all that. The last few years, I have had less injuries and that helped.”
An Initial Escape
Gosling lost his mother, Alwyn Gosling, to cancer when was 10.
“That’s part of the reason I got into running.,” said Gosling. “It was an escape.”
As it is, his stepmother, Mary Jo, was a runner at Syracuse and one of his most vocal supporters.
“My stepmom ran at Syracuse, and she has always loved coming out to my races,” said Gosling. “She picks the best part of the course, maybe 1K before the finish, and I hear her screaming for me.”
But it all starts with dad, a former distance runner in high school, who got his sons involved.
“My dad has played an amazing role in my success,” said Gosling. “I don’t know where I’d be without him.”
He also wanted to thank his coaches.
“My coaches (Marrington and Rob Rogers) are both amazing coaches,” said Gosling. “My brother is two years older than me, but we started running at a similar time. We would go back and forth, just a friendly competition, and I beat him out in the end.
“I went from 5:30 in the mile in middle school score to 4:30 in high school, so you could see how much I improved.”
