Rowan men’s cross country has a plethora of talent at its disposal, and junior Scott Hubbard is one of those elite runners for the Profs.  

One thing is certain: Rowan will need Hubbard to break into the top ten to have success at the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championships on Nov. 2, and Head Coach Dustin Dimit has high expectations for the junior standout in the stretch run of the season.

“He’s definitely a guy that we’re counting on to do big things here at the conference and regional meets coming up,” Dimit said. 

Dimit noted a specific area where Hubbard would need to be on point to set the tone and control the race. 

“His biggest thing is just the middle of the race where it really starts to hurt at that time,” Dimit said. “So that’s the thing we’ve been talking about, of having that confidence in his training at that point to be able to continue on and stay with the people he’s with and finish in the spot that he knows he can.”

A couple of weeks ago, an illness was affecting the way Hubbard was running. He’s feeling strong now though, and a standout performance at the NJAC Championships will allow him to gain confidence heading into regionals.  

“I’d say it did affect me,” Hubbard said. “Probably too much, because I think I have a tendency to just think about it too much.” 

Hubbard’s motivation coming into the season was to make sure that his training was worth it, however, his goals have shifted towards a team-oriented mindset going into the NJAC Championships. His mentality is very calm, as he’s not putting too much pressure on himself, but Hubbard wants the team to race together. 

“Over the summer with all the training, I just tend to like that aspect of running, so I didn’t need as much motivation for that,” Hubbard said. “Now, mid-season, I’d say my motivation is to put the team in a good position because these guys are all great. I think we have a good team and a great chance at making nationals. I’d say mentality-wise, I’m just trying to keep calm and not really put a lot of pressure on it. Pressure can be a good thing, but when there’s too much, it’s not always the best. We’re trying to race as a pack. Finish together and everything.”

Hubbard has already earned one NJAC Runner of the Week honor this season, and the rising star will obviously be a massive contributor throughout the homestretch of the fall season.

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