South Pasadena Cross Country Star Heading to Princeton

After months of recruiting trips and conversations with coaching staffs, South Pasadena senior cross country star Sam Pons can finally breathe a sigh of relief and concentrate on what he does best — running.

Last week Pons, who won his first state CIF Division III cross country championship this past year in addition to a second-straight CIF-SS Div. III title, got a call from the admissions office at Princeton University informing him they plan to send him a "likely letter," which is how the school informs athletes they've been accepted. Ivy League programs  do not offer recruits Letters of Intent because they do not offer athletic scholarships.

“It’s really awesome," Pons said. "I’ve been going through the process for nine months. It’s really nice to get some actual results; to finally know that I’ve been accepted and to know that I’m going to Princeton.”

Pons also considered Georgetown and Duke.

"I just felt that along with the academics of Princeton and how their team was doing, I felt I’d fit there best," Pons said.

Pons will run both cross country and track at Princeton, and he said that he expects to make the varsity squad his freshman year. During track season, Pons said that he most likely will compete in both the 5 and 10K events.

"I haven’t run those races a lot, but I think I’m better suited toward the longer distance races," he said.