Crits Excelling on the Track and in the Classroom at La Salle

Nick Crits had several college options to choose from three years ago as graduation approached at Wissahickon High School. LaSalle was originally far from the top of the list for the local track star.

“My parents took me to LaSalle University,” said Crits. “I’d never heard of it until my senior year. I met with coach (Charles) Torpey, and he told me a lot of things about the program. He told me about certain runners at LaSalle and how great they became.  It sparked my interest because it was local and had a great distance program.”

Crits is looking to build on a successful winter season with a strong performance throughout the rest of the spring. During the indoor campaign, Crits placed first in the one-mile event Jan. 14. He also placed first in the 300 meter race during a February meet and was part of a first-place finish with the Explorers’ 4x800 relay team at the Metro Coaches Invitational.

Crits is hoping for more success before the spring season comes to a close at LaSalle.

“It’s going well right now,” Crits said.  “I’m just trying to be smart with my racing and going out there with the mentality that I can win these races. Indoor also went well with the miles.”

Crits is in his third season with the Explorers, and the junior had to make the same adjustment three years ago that every other freshman has to make on the college level. It didn’t take long for Crits to understand the difference between the high school and college competition.

"You kind of think it’s just like racing in high school when you are a freshman,” said Crits. “After you go through a whole year, you figure out what you have to do differently in races and that everybody you’re racing is most likely an equal.”

Crits had his share of success at Wissahickon before moving onto LaSalle.  He was the 2008 Pennsylvania Outdoor State Mile Champion. Crits was also the runner up in the Pennsylvania State Championship Indoor Mile and placed fifth at the State Cross Country Championships.

Crits believes going against the top runners in the state helped prepare him for the next level.

“The states are where you had to work your way up to,” Crits said. “That’s when the competition gets tougher to compete with. That was the part of the competition that got me ready for college.”

When Crits arrived at LaSalle, he quickly settled in with the track team.  He also found the right fit for his academic life and is now looking at a future career in public relations.

“I’m majoring in communications,” said Crits. “I’m into public relations.  My dad took communications, and he thought I’d be good in that area. I ended up looking at it, and I really liked the communications department a lot.”

There is still another month and another year for Crits to run for the Explorers.  He has several individual and team goals he has set for the rest of the season. 

“We’re trying to break our school record in the 4x800 relay,” Crits said. “The goal is to get in the regionals and make it to nationals. We want to try and go in there and finish in the best place possible.”

No matter what goals are achieved over the next month, Crits is grateful that one trip to LaSalle opened the door to his college success in both track and the classroom.