Pasciuto finished 9th overall with a time of 20:01.2 at the NCAA Championships last season (Colorado sports photo)

1. As two-time All-American, you are coming off a ninth-place finish at the 2005 NCAA Cross Country Championships and finished 13th in 2004. With the loss of the top seven women from last season, how do you see your outlook for this season?

Going into every season, I simply hope to improve. Although many of the top girls are not returning from last year, that doesn't change my outlook on the season all that much. I will just continue to listen to Coach Wetmore and keep training hard!

2. The Buffaloes will look to defend their Big 12 title once again this fall. How has the team come together so far during the early training sessions?

We have a lot of new faces on the girls team this year, and we just started training together last week. We went up to our team camp and had a lot of fun getting to know one another and running as a new team. It's hard to say where everyone is at right now, but I am definitely excited for what is to come!

3. Head Coach Mark Wetmore always looks to get the best out of you and the rest of your teammates come November and has been very successful at that. Is it easy to get discouraged early in the season if you are not where you want to be? How has Wetmore settled you down to realize that it's such a long season and you never want to peak too early?

I think it could be easy to get discouraged in the beginning of the season for many people, but like you said, Coach Wetmore gets the best out of us in November, which is when it is most important. That is one of the many reasons that I have so much respect in him as a coach. I think that confidence in his program has helped me stay focused on the main goal. Also, Coach Wetmore sometimes reminds me how much time is left until Nationals, which helps me put things into a bigger perspective and relax when there is so much time left in the season.

4. During your high school career, you were recruited by UCLA, Washington, Arizona State and Columbia and took unofficial visits to Stanford and Cal. What eventually made you decide that Colorado was the best place for you as a student-athlete?

As a senior in high school, choosing a college is an overwhelming, yet exciting experience. Academically, I was pretty unsure what I wanted to major in, but as I narrowed down to a handful of colleges, I knew I would be happy as a student anywhere. I think that it is really important to be able to be happy at a school regardless of athletics. Out of my visits, Colorado was my final one and I fell in love immediately. In terms of location, I knew it would be tough to be away from my home and family (and it is!), but Boulder is a great, beautiful place to train. Like I said previously, I have tons of respect for Coach Wetmore and his program, and I knew we fit well together.

5. Considering all of your accolades during your collegiate career so far, what stands out in your mind as a race or event that you'll never forget?

Oh dear, that's a tough question. If I had to choose one race, then it would be the 2004 National Cross Country Championship. I couldn't ask for more than being a part of the Championship team as a freshman! Individually, I had been struggling that season, so for it to come together on a important day was great as well. Additionally, our mens team followed our race by winning themselves, and I couldn't have been happier for them!

6. With the start of the cross country season here, how much mileage are you putting in each week at this point of the season?

Over the summer I built up slowly and now I am running at about 55 miles a week. I have never been a great, consistent trainer, so I am extremely pleased to be running that much!

7. Who are some of the other runners in the sport that you look up to and what have you learned from them?

I am really thankful to have met so many great people in this sport, but the ones that I truly look up to are all of my current and former teammates. I have learned the most by running alongside with my girls team and watching the guys on my team train. The work ethic and consistency of my teammates that pays off season after season in college, and post-collegiately is a big motivator.

8. Colorado will be one of the favorites once again for the title this year at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. With the loss of Kalin Toedebusch and Jackie Zeigle from last season, who will you look to step up this season to take their places?

Compared to last cross country season, only Jenny Barringer and I will be returning. That said, we will be expecting a lot of girls to step up and compete on the national level. More specifically, I see freshmen Aislinn Ryan and Claire Maduza being huge contributors on our team for this season.

9. The campus of Colorado is such a great place to train as a competitive runner, such as yourself. What are some of the trails, hills and scenery like compared to your hometown of Murrieta, California?

While training in Murrieta, I fortunately have a great place to run at called the Santa Rosa Plateau. There are miles and miles of dirt trails that I love to run at whenever I am home. In comparison, Boulder has the dirt trails as well, but the hills and scenery are in a completely different league!

10. What are some of your additional interests outside of running?

I love hanging out with my minpin puppy (*Thor*), listening to music & dancing, and definitely being lazy & sleeping in!