Freshman Raya Mount and Junior Lola Gitlin in Ithaca College cross country gear and racing spikes in front of the Ithaca College outdoor and indoor school record boards. Ithaca, New York. September 2025. (Hana Weisinger/Ithaca Week)
First year IC student Raya Mount began playing soccer when she was 4 years old and went on to play club soccer as she got older. Mount played basketball as well, coached by her dad. As for her competitive running career, she didn’t get into running until her sophomore year of high school where she ran track — and only did that for one more season during her senior year.
Junior Lola Gitlin has a similar story. Gitlin also started playing soccer when she was 4 years old – she was on a competitive soccer team till the end of her elementary school years until she got recruited to play at the college level.
Both made the switch to cross country at the college level.
She still loves soccer, Mount said, but running gave her something to look forward to.
“I had an opportunity to do that, and I think over either not doing anything or running I want to run,” Mount said. “I do enjoy running and I always ran a lot for soccer. Having the opportunity to compete and try something new and do that – that’s like what drew me to it.”
In terms of Mount’s new experience and opportunity to be a collegiate runner, she points out that this isn’t something to be afraid of – rather having a change in your sport or anything in general can bring a lot of positivity and a new zest for life.
“I think it’s a fun new experience and it’s cool to try something new,” Mount said.
“For me, it was kind of a spontaneous thing, so that makes it kind of more fun,” she added. “It’s like, I’m just here now, this is what I’m doing – you just have to stay positive.”
“Sometimes it has been really stressful,” Mount added.
Although this is Gitlin’s third year in college, this is her first for another sport other than soccer. From a young age, Gitlin has loved the freeing feeling that running has brought her – even if it wasn’t in a competitive context. However, it wasn’t until now that she decided to take running seriously and full time, which came from a lot of decision making and life experiences.
“For years I was struggling with whether I loved it or not,” Gitlin said. “I always felt like I couldn’t quit soccer, and I couldn’t stop soccer because it was my identity all throughout growing up – but then it came to a point where I was like you know I shouldn’t be unhappy.”
“This should be enjoyable – sports aren’t supposed to make you feel anxiety ridden,” Gitlin added.
After taking time to reflect on her soccer career, Gitlin is excited for her new sport journey. Not only is this a change in her daily routine and life, but it’s an overall mindset shift.
“It was more just seeing myself lose love for the sport and I didn’t want to end up in a situation where I resented it,” Gitlin said.
“Looking back on I don’t regret anything, and I think that’s the most important thing.”
“I value all the time I did have in soccer and leaving it allowed me to do that – I can see the amazing sides of soccer but also see that it’s no longer mine and I’m really at peace,” Gitlin added.
Both Mount and Gitlin agree that the team environment on the Ithaca College women’s cross country team has made them feel very welcomed and supported. Coach Erin Dinan, the Head Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Coach at Ithaca College, has a great say on these new additions to the team.
“I feel that Raya has been very well accepted by the people who are here – I almost forget she’s never done cross country before,” Dinan said. “Lola also fits in seamlessly – she has asked a lot of questions and is understanding.”
“On an individual level, she herself never ran – so talking to her about pacing and volume and race strategy is great,” Dinan added.
Furthermore, Coach Dinan believes the team camaraderie is what brings all athletes together, regardless of where everyone has started in their athletic journey.
“I think honestly that’s the biggest feat – you can teach anybody to run and if they want to learn, we can work through all that,” Dinan said. “But being able to be on a team and in a group of people that are working towards the same goal, you are all supporting each other and if you understand what it means to be on the team, that helps this process.”