Should I run XC in college to improve my 800m?

Depends on where you are going to college.

I had a kid that was slightly faster than you in the short stuff (1:56.3 and 48.9 relay split) but not as good in cross (17:12 5k). He seemed to get worn down by cross. When he got to college, he just did fall track conditioning with the mid-d crew and ended up running 1:50.3 as a sophomore.

A girl that I just had graduate, on the other hand, was mostly a sprinter/hurdler in high school (although she was our top CC girl also). Her college coach wasn't really interested in having her come on the team as a hurdler, but instead had her train for cc like a mid distance runner would train for cc. She ended up being their #3 girl this year then on the track dropped her 800 down to 2:12. (she had gone 2:24.5 in high school off of her sprint training base).

If I were you, I'd check with the coach and talk about the pros and cons of doing cross or training with the mid distance crew and see if he/she can help you figure it out.

I'll be attending Mount San Antonio College which is a community college located in SoCal.

kev16 wrote:

I'll be attending Mount San Antonio College which is a community college located in SoCal.

email your coach there and ask what he expects of his mid distance guys and what training he wants you to do this summer. If I were you, I'd run xc or try to convince the coach to let you run xc. December is a hell of a long way away and that school won state last year. It would be fun to be part of a winning team, not many people can say they were.