By Rich Fisher
Fish4scores.com
Nov. 9: Anyone who watched Mani Kissling play soccer or lacrosse at Steinert, knew that when she took the field, she took things seriously.
Thus, it should come as little surprise that when Kissling decided to try cross country at Mercer County Community College this fall, she would become successful at it.
Steinert grad Mani Kissling of the Mercer County Community College Cross Country Team
On Oct. 31, the MCCC sophomore finished sixth overall in the Region XIX Meet at Branch Brook Park in Newark. Kissling ran a time of 21:29 to help Mercer to the first regional title in program history. The win also qualified Mercer for Saturday’s NJCAA Division I National Meet in El Dorado, Kansas.
After becoming the first 100-goal scorer in Steinert girls’ lacrosse history, and playing three seasons of varsity soccer for the Spartans, Kissling played two years of soccer for MCCC. When the eligibility ran out, she decided to give cross country a try since she had another academic remaining.
All she did was make first-team All-Region XIX and become the Vikings second best runner this season behind Sage Southard.
“I absolutely surprised myself,” Kissling said. “If you told me in the beginning of all this, that I would have one of the top places on the team, I would have laughed. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I agreed to be on the team. But I’m thankful for the support of the team because there is no way I would be at the point that I am, without them.”
Coach Mike DeAngelis credits Kissling’s outstanding fitness to soccer, and her success to dedication.
“Mani is a great success story,” coach Mike DeAngelis said. “She is an excellent leader. She is vocal and picks her teammates up when the going gets tough. Mani has great enthusiasm and her upbeat personality was contagious with her teammates.
“Sometimes it’s not very exciting to complete the grueling workouts I provide for the women at practice. Mani’s attitude and positive encouragement were instrumental to our training sessions. She would keep the team lose and energetic.”
Although Kissling has never been afraid of running, she never exactly loved it either. She’s probably in the majority there. But this fall has altered her outlook a bit.
“My thoughts on running have definitely changed,” she said. “The type of running we do as cross country runners is a lot different than the type of running I did in any other sport. It’s 100 percent a mental thing. I knew this beforehand from training for soccer and lacrosse, but this is a whole different ballgame.
“I struggled in the beginning because I wasn’t used to running 30 to 40 minutes without a soccer ball or stick in front of me. But the girls on the team helped me as well as the coaching staff. So now I enjoy running longer distances a little more. It’s a task I feel is easier to accomplish now that I’ve moved past the mental part.”
Kissling is fired up for the Nationals, and is excited to be making the trip with a special group of teammates that include Nottingham High graduate Breanna Santini, who finished 10th at regionals in 23:20.
“This team is definitely one of the favorite teams I’ve been on,” Kissling said. “There was no drama, no tension, just hard work and companionship. We all wanted the same things and were all willing to work hard to achieve our common goals.
“I am so proud and honored to be a part of this team. I think the key was our work ethic. We all had the same goals and that definitely showed in meets when our team was pushing our hardest to beat out the completion.”
Which is something Kissling has been doing all her athletic life.
