Cohen Manges ’27 is a junior cross country runner hailing from Mechanicsburg, PA. He graduated from Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School and is a biology and computer science double major. Some of his personal bests include: 20:22.7 (2024, Main Line) in the 4-mile race, and 24:41.1 (2024, Rowan Border Battle) in the 8-kilometer race. Along with these fast times, Manges has accrued many awards to his name over his three seasons at Swarthmore. Awards include 2x USTFCCCA Metro All-Region (2023, 2024), Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year (2023), 2x All-Centennial Second-team (2023, 2024), USTFCCCA All-Academic selection (2024), a CSC Academic All-District selection (2024), an Academic All-Centennial selection (2024), and a Centennial Honor Roll selection (2024). In his 2024 season, Manges competed in all seven races, qualifying for the NCAA Championships for the second-straight season and placed eleventh to earn All-Metro Region recognition. During this same season, Manges also garnered his second-straight All-Conference honors at the championships.
Katie Kerman: Congrats on the end of your cross country season and your conference awards! How are you feeling going into winter and spring seasons?
Cohen Manges: I’m highly optimistic! After a strong season of training our team is going into the track seasons with a strong base and motivation to develop speed for the shorter races.
KK: What are some personal and team goals for the upcoming seasons?
CM: For the winter and spring, I’d like to see everyone PR (personal record) in their preferred races and stay uninjured so we can go into next summer really strong to prepare for cross country again.
KK: How do you prepare for meets? Any pregame rituals?
CM: I spend time with the team and remind myself why I do what I do, why it’s important to push through the pain during the race. Especially late in the season after we’ve finished the constructive training the only way to influence the outcome of the championships is to be more motivated than your competitors.
KK: Reflecting back on the season, what are some memorable moments that keep you motivated, on or off the trail?
CM: Coming into the summer training season I had lost a lot of the fitness from previous seasons, but I slowly built back what I lost over the last five months. It’s that accumulation of effort and past racing experience that, along with knowing just how hard my teammates have worked, keeps me going. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing that my moment of weakness during an important race was the reason why we didn’t achieve our goals.
KK: What is the best piece of advice you would give to incoming student-athletes?
CM: Make friends with people outside of your team. There are so many cool people here, it’d be a shame not to get to meet a few and take advantage of the abundant opportunities Swat offers.
KK: Describe your ideal rest day, with no external obligations or academic work, just 24 hours spent the way you would like to.
CM: I’d start the day with a run under an azure sky and with pleasantly crisp temperatures. Then I’d spend a while woodworking before going to the grocery store to get some inspiration for dinner. After cooking, I’ll sit by the fire and read something (anything really) written by Brandon Sanderson before going to bed early.
KK: What is your favorite class that you’ve taken at Swarthmore and why?
CM: I’m currently enjoying radical Jesus with [James Hormel Chair of Social Justice] Professor Mark Wallace! It’s allowed me to engage in academic religious inquiry in a way that gives me a greater appreciation for the perspective of religious communities.
KK: If you celebrate, do you have a favorite Thanksgiving tradition or food?
CM: I really enjoy turkey, not because I think it’s particularly good, but because it is so rarely cooked properly that the dish is a delight when it is.
KK: Do you usually say “Swath”-more or “Swarth”-more?
CM: I like to mix it up (especially if it’ll irritate whoever I’m talking to).
KK: What is the last song you have listened to?
CM: Interesting way to finish the interview. I like to walk around with piano music, so I was listening to Breeze by Hideyuki Hashimoto.
