Temple University Athletics
Men’s Cross Country Inks Four to 2021 Roster
3.24.21 | Men's Cross Country
PHILADELPHIA – Temple men's cross country head coach James Snyder has announced the signing of four talented runners that will join the Owls for the 2021 season. The signees include Cole Frank, Brayden Harris, Graham Thomas and Liem Chot.
"I'm ecstatic about what this class is going to be for our program," expressed coach Snyder. "I think in a unique year with recruiting, with the dead period and no official visits, we had to get really creative with how we approached this class. We always try to identify prospects early, so three of the four guys had the opportunity to visit our campus during their junior year for one of our junior days. Continuing to communicate with them throughout this last year was definitely a challenge as we navigated the virtual environment. To walk out of this difficult year with these four guys that are signed for next season, I couldn't be more excited."
Cole Frank hails from Bethlehem, Pa. where he has been a standout runner at Liberty High School. Frank has qualified for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) AAA Cross Country State meet all four years of his high school career. Perhaps his most successful year was Frank's junior season when he finished 18th at the PIAA AAA State Championships, was the District XI AAA champion, Eastern Pennsylvania Conference champion and Centaur Invite champion. Frank was also named the Cross Country Runner of the Year for both the Lehigh Valley and the Morning Call while being named his high school's Most Valuable Runner for the second-straight season. Cole closed out his high school career as the back-to-back District XI AAA Champion and with a 24th-place finish at the PIAA AAA State meet in the fall of 2020. Frank, a member of the National Honors Society, intends to major in Business at TU.
A native of McClure, Pa., Brayden Harris will arrive on Broad Street this fall following a four-year career at Mifflin County High School. The 5-11 runner had quite a successful sophomore year at Mifflin County, where he was a District VI champion and finished 4th at the PIAA AAA Cross Country Championship to earn All-State honors. Also during his 2018 season, Harris finished 12th at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional. In 2019, Harris was a PIAA State qualifier once again and was named the Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year by PennLive. Unfortunately, Harris was sidelined for most of his senior season due to injury.
Rounding out the Pennsylvania signees is Lancaster native Graham Thomas. The Penn Manor High School runner has competed in the PIAA State Championships the past three seasons, including his third-place finish during his senior year. During his junior season, Thomas finished third at the Lancaster-Lebanon League Championships and second at the PIAA District III Championships. Along with his All-State honors his senior year, Thomas was also the Lancaster-Lebanon League Champion and the Lancaster-Lebanon League Runner of the Year. The National Honors Society student will major in Architecture at Temple.
"We have been built on our Pennsylvania guys," reflected coach Snyder. "We have continued to expand out of state, but the heart and soul of our program is always going to be our Pennsylvania guys. We're a Pennsylvania school and I think there is a special cross country tradition in our state. The more guys we have that are used to racing the state course at Hershey and are familiar with some of the challenging courses throughout our state tend to bode well for their success when they move up to 8K and 10K cross country races when they get to college."
The final signee and only runner out of state for the 2021 Temple recruiting class is Liem Chot of Lincoln, Nebraska. Chot is a three-time Nebraska State Champion out of Lincoln North Star High School. The 6-3 runner had an impressive senior season where he was the state, district, conference and city champion. Chot was named the 2019-20 Nebraska Boys Cross Country Gatorade Player of the Year after he went unbeaten during his junior campaign. The decorated runner intends to major in Exercise Science at TU.
"Liem is a three-time state champion in cross country, someone who absolutely aligns with not only the individuals in our program but also with the way in which we train," commented coach Snyder. "He's somebody who, in talking to his high school coach, loves the longer distance races, the mileage and the tempo running, which is kind of the bread and butter of how our program at Temple is built."
Temple will boast a 15-man roster for the 2021 season as everyone besides senior Kristian Jensen will return next fall.
"I'm ecstatic about what this class is going to be for our program," expressed coach Snyder. "I think in a unique year with recruiting, with the dead period and no official visits, we had to get really creative with how we approached this class. We always try to identify prospects early, so three of the four guys had the opportunity to visit our campus during their junior year for one of our junior days. Continuing to communicate with them throughout this last year was definitely a challenge as we navigated the virtual environment. To walk out of this difficult year with these four guys that are signed for next season, I couldn't be more excited."
Cole Frank hails from Bethlehem, Pa. where he has been a standout runner at Liberty High School. Frank has qualified for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) AAA Cross Country State meet all four years of his high school career. Perhaps his most successful year was Frank's junior season when he finished 18th at the PIAA AAA State Championships, was the District XI AAA champion, Eastern Pennsylvania Conference champion and Centaur Invite champion. Frank was also named the Cross Country Runner of the Year for both the Lehigh Valley and the Morning Call while being named his high school's Most Valuable Runner for the second-straight season. Cole closed out his high school career as the back-to-back District XI AAA Champion and with a 24th-place finish at the PIAA AAA State meet in the fall of 2020. Frank, a member of the National Honors Society, intends to major in Business at TU.
A native of McClure, Pa., Brayden Harris will arrive on Broad Street this fall following a four-year career at Mifflin County High School. The 5-11 runner had quite a successful sophomore year at Mifflin County, where he was a District VI champion and finished 4th at the PIAA AAA Cross Country Championship to earn All-State honors. Also during his 2018 season, Harris finished 12th at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional. In 2019, Harris was a PIAA State qualifier once again and was named the Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year by PennLive. Unfortunately, Harris was sidelined for most of his senior season due to injury.
Rounding out the Pennsylvania signees is Lancaster native Graham Thomas. The Penn Manor High School runner has competed in the PIAA State Championships the past three seasons, including his third-place finish during his senior year. During his junior season, Thomas finished third at the Lancaster-Lebanon League Championships and second at the PIAA District III Championships. Along with his All-State honors his senior year, Thomas was also the Lancaster-Lebanon League Champion and the Lancaster-Lebanon League Runner of the Year. The National Honors Society student will major in Architecture at Temple.
"We have been built on our Pennsylvania guys," reflected coach Snyder. "We have continued to expand out of state, but the heart and soul of our program is always going to be our Pennsylvania guys. We're a Pennsylvania school and I think there is a special cross country tradition in our state. The more guys we have that are used to racing the state course at Hershey and are familiar with some of the challenging courses throughout our state tend to bode well for their success when they move up to 8K and 10K cross country races when they get to college."
The final signee and only runner out of state for the 2021 Temple recruiting class is Liem Chot of Lincoln, Nebraska. Chot is a three-time Nebraska State Champion out of Lincoln North Star High School. The 6-3 runner had an impressive senior season where he was the state, district, conference and city champion. Chot was named the 2019-20 Nebraska Boys Cross Country Gatorade Player of the Year after he went unbeaten during his junior campaign. The decorated runner intends to major in Exercise Science at TU.
"Liem is a three-time state champion in cross country, someone who absolutely aligns with not only the individuals in our program but also with the way in which we train," commented coach Snyder. "He's somebody who, in talking to his high school coach, loves the longer distance races, the mileage and the tempo running, which is kind of the bread and butter of how our program at Temple is built."
Temple will boast a 15-man roster for the 2021 season as everyone besides senior Kristian Jensen will return next fall.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
Ep. 6: Temple Athletics Weekly Recap; Field Hockey's Peyton Rieger
Tuesday, September 23
Temple Men's Basketball | Mic'd Up at Temple Women's Volleyball Game
Friday, September 19
Ep. 5: Head Men's Golf Coach Brian Quinn
Friday, September 19
Ep. 4: Temple Athletics Weekly Recap; Men's Soccer Captain Lukas Egarter
Tuesday, September 16
