(Editor’s note: This is the first of a summer-long series by Nate Steis focusing on area athletes that have gone on to compete at the collegiate level. Today: Bradford’s Riley Crissman.)
Penn State Behrend cross country and track and field operate under the direction of Greg Cooper, one of the top coaches in all of Division III. Cooper is the coach of both the men’s and women’s cross country teams as well as the coach of both the indoor and outdoor men’s and women’s track and field teams. Through his career, he has produced several All-Americans, conference titles, and has helped Behrend runners break countless school and course records. Despite all of this, Cooper finds a way to incorporate team first into all of his athletes. For 2016 Bradford Area High School graduate and current Behrend Lion runner Riley Crissman, the team aspect of running is everything.
“We have a great team full of team-first athletes,” Crissman said. “A common characteristic of all of us is we are reluctant to talk about our personal accomplishments, but would rather talk about our overall team success. Anything else that comes along in my mind is just all of us doing our best to put the team in the best position to succeed.”
So far in her career, Crissman has been a part of three Colonial State Athletic Conference (CSAC) team titles in track and field and two Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) team titles in cross country. She has twice been named First-Team All CSAC in the 5000 meter race (5K) along with a three time AMCC All-Conference nominee in cross country including being named the AMCC Runner of the Year in 2016 after placing first for Behrend in all but one race in her freshman campaign.
After falling short in the conference meet in 2018, Crissman is anxious to get back out there and help bring the crown back to Behrend and also is hopeful to make cross country nationals as a senior after narrowly missing out on the meet last season. In addition, she is hopeful to break the program record in the outdoor 5K next season. While Crissman has accomplished a lot in her three seasons as a Behrend Lion, she has also been busy with some great experiences in her major of environmental science.
Crissman has interned at Presque Isle State Park in the past, but is excited for a new opportunity this summer as she will be working at Long Island National Wild Refuge which will take her one step closer to working at a national park upon graduation in May of 2020. She was inspired to become an environmental scientist after taking an AP Environmental
Science class in her junior year of high school. She really enjoyed the topics being taught, and she also was influenced by her father Tim because he owns a lumber business (Rocky Ridge Trading Company) in Bradford. Crissman also is a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) at Behrend which focuses on helping make athletics better at Behrend but also the community of Penn State Behrend better as well. The committee helps organize fundraisers, events, and also helps communicate to administration some changes that students and student athletes would like to see at the school.
Crissman has had three very successful years at Behrend, and her foundation started in Bradford. Both of her parents were runners in high school and have since gotten back into the sport when she began her career in running as a seventh grader. Her dad competes in ironman events while her mom Nancy competes in duathlons in running and biking. The sport of running has strengthened the families bond, and Riley’s parents have supported her at every level during her running career. Crissman also credits longtime Bradford track and field coach coach Larry Stillman and Bradford cross country coach Mark Kelly for helping her love the sport and always finding ways to help her improve. It was Stillman and Kelly that helped Crissman reach states four times in cross country and have a successful career in track and field as a two miler. Lastly, Riley credits Cooper for his ability to not just specialize in running, but being able to relate and help all of his athletes improve.
When speaking about Cooper, Crissman said “Coach Cooper has always prepared great workouts and extra activities to make us better. The lifting program and yoga workouts help all of us reach new levels. He creates a great sense of team which was important to me in choosing Behrend. The success he has had here speaks for itself. I wanted to be a part of a winning program, and he certainly has helped build that and build upon that.”
With one season left in Crissman’s career, she is excited to give it her all and do her part to help the team achieve its goals. This distance runner will enjoy the rest of her collegiate athlete days, but admits to being excited to compete in more half marathons once her career at Behrend concludes. Whether Crissman is a college runner or not, the sport will always be a part of her life and certainly will the outdoors as she is poised for a long and successful career as an environmental scientist.
