STATE COLLEGE, PA — Catching the bus every day is a task faced by many students. For Penn State Cross Country runners and twin brothers, Kyle and Owen Dawson, it was more of a childhood sport.
“The bus would stop at two spots near our house everyday,” said junior Owen Dawson.
“We would wait for it at the top of the corner and race it down.”
Kyle and Owen carry this same passion with Cross Country today. The Dawson brothers, along with senior Kevin Fuller and freshman Mark Fuller, make up the two pairs of brothers on Penn State Cross Country.
“We are
thrilled to have both sets on the team,” said Assistant Coach John Gondak.
Kevin Fuller is not the first Fuller brother to run at Penn State.
Kevin’s older brother, Brian Fuller, was a senior track runner at Penn State last year. Kevin’s parents and oldest brother also went to Penn State.
“There is a photo of the four Fuller brothers in Penn State sweat shirts when we were younger,” said Kevin Fuller. “I was not forced to go here, but I only applied to Penn State.”
The two sets of brothers both noticed the benefit of running with family. The mentoring that Kevin Fuller received from older brother Brian Fuller has been passed down to younger brother Mark Fuller.
“He gave me someone to look up to and something to strike for,” said Kevin Fuller of his older brother. “All summer (Kevin and I) train together.”
“It helps knowing all the people ahead of time and fitting in,” said Mark Fuller of his first year running Penn State Cross Country.
Kyle and Owen Dawson also felt the benefit of already knowing someone on the team. Despite how close the two Dawson brothers are they remain competitive.
“We are pretty competitive,” said red-shirt sophomore Kyle Dawson.
“Sometimes we pick on each other,” added Owen Dawson.
Roommate and teammate Ryan Foster notices the Dawson’s competitive nature on a daily basis.
“They are pretty quite till they get going at each other,” joked Foster, a junior Cross Country runner. “They played paintball standing toe-to-toe shooting at each other.”
“You could see the bruises on the team poster.”
Kevin and Mark Fuller are not yet that competitive.
“We’ll see,” said Mark Fuller. “We have not run together long enough yet.”
Gondak is positive about past and future for both set of brothers at Penn State.
“It has been a lot of fun having them here,” said Gondak. “They are a huge part of the reason we have improved to this point.”
