Entering his senior year, Dominic Mussoline's goal was to "win every step."

Mussoline did exactly that and starred for Marian on the track this past spring, capping his scholastic career with an eighth-place finish in the Class AA 800 at the PIAA Championships.Such a tremendous season, which also included leading the Colts' 1600 and 3200 relay teams to Shippensburg, has given Mussoline the opportunity to continue his academic and athletic career at Division I La Salle University."La Salle has stuck with me from the beginning," said Mussoline, who hopes to major in marketing and possibly minor in economics. "They've been looking at me since my sophomore year. I fell in love with the school when I went there."As a fan of the city's professional sports teams, Mussoline admitted that continuing his career at the Philadelphia school was an added bonus.But it was La Salle's overall commitment to him that put the Explorers over the top."The coaching staff is a wonderful group of guys," Mussoline noted. "They push their athletes. I just knew I would regret it if I didn't go."I felt like I've known them for years. It's a young staff and they relate very well."Marian track and field head coach Francis Lally has witnessed Mussoline's steady progression first hand. Though 2016 was Lally's first as the Colts' head coach, he had been an assistant since Mussoline's sophomore year, which marked the first campaign for both coach and athlete.Unsure of what to expect at the outset, it didn't take long for Lally to see he had something special in Mussoline."He ended up having a great sophomore year," Lally said. "I think something clicked for him, like, 'Wow, I could do big things on the track if I put my mind to it.' It was nice because I had the opportunity to watch him fall in love with the sport."His sophomore and junior year, fortunately, he was able to run with Nico Agosti, who is currently running at Tufts University in Boston. Dom learned a lot from Nico. They trained together and competed against each other in meets and at practice. Most importantly, Dom learned Nico's leadership skills. I have been around sports my entire life, and Dom matured into one of the greatest team leaders that I have seen."Mussoline put it all together during a remarkable senior year, as he turned in personal bests in the 800 throughout the postseason. Mussoline advanced to states with a runner-up finish in the 800 at the District 11 meet with a time of 1:57.62.Mussoline made the most of his "Trip to Ship," advancing to the 800 final with a 1:59.32 and a sixth-place finish in his preliminary heat before throwing down a 1:55.44 in Saturday's final to earn his first state medal.The performance didn't surprise Lally."Going into the Tamaqua Invite (on April 15), I had a great feeling that he was going to break the school record at a 2:01," Lally said. "He ended up running a 1:59 in 40-degree weather at 7 o'clock at night. I looked at my assistant coach and said anything is possible from here on out."Mussoline, who also played football at Marian, is looking forward to concentrating solely on running while at La Salle, as he will train with the cross country team during the fall and do indoor track during the winter to prepare for next spring."This will be the first season ever where I focus just on running," Mussoline said. "I'll run exhibitions with the cross country team in the fall and we'll see how it goes. I haven't done cross country since sixth or seventh grade, but it could be good. I know it will help me."Though he knows it will be difficult and nothing is guaranteed, Mussoline hopes to crack the Explorers' 3200 relay team in his freshman year."Dom has never taken a practice or a rep off for as long as I have been coaching him," Lally said. "It's a brand-new chapter in his life. If he keeps the same mental attitude and work ethic that he did at Marian and carries that over to La Salle, the sky is the limit."