Every year, the transfer portal welcomes new talent to the UCLA cross country roster.

And Jack Rosencrans is no exception.

But the graduate student is, by most views, a newcomer. It’s his first year with the UCLA cross country and track and field team, and to make the adjustment even more significant, his first season running as a Division I athlete.

Before transferring to UCLA during the preseason, Rosencrans ran cross country and track at Pomona-Pitzer’s Division III program. Despite receiving interest from Division I schools straight out of high school, Rosencrans opted for a smaller academic program that aligned with his interests. While competing for the Sagehens, he was also part of the team that clinched the NCAA championship title in 2021.

Despite his success at Pomona-Pitzer, the jump from Division III to I was no easy feat. For Rosencrans, that transition was motivated in the pursuit to build his skillset both athletically and academically.

“I was looking for a smaller, more academically focused college – it matched more of my skills at the time,” Rosencrans said. “It’s not only me, but seven other guys from my group … we all kind of saw it as an opportunity to grow as athletes.”

After graduating from Pomona-Pitzer in 2023, Rosencrans took a year off from the sport. The Glen Head, New York, local spent that year traveling the globe, diving into new experiences such as working at a farm in Australia before jet-setting around Southeast Asia.

After the time abroad, Rosencrans realized he wasn’t done with the sport. Despite his lack of consistent collegiate-level training, he decided to input his name into the transfer portal.

Most student athletes heavily weigh the prestige of the programs before choosing a school, but Rosencrans craved something else. After completing his undergraduate degree in media studies, he was looking for the right place to further his interests in the film industry.

And what better place to do that than Los Angeles?

The city of LA is home to an archipelago of entertainment companies – Universal, NBC, Fox, Paramount and Dreamworks – just to name a few.

“UCLA was a real clear choice because I want to be in the entertainment industry,” Rosencrans said. “I was already in LA, and it was a good place to learn, a good team and a good program.”

Moving to one of the largest cities in the world presents difficulties, but adjusting to the grind of a Division I training regime can make those difficulties even more robust.

Division I cross country runners can sometimes tally more than 100 miles in a singular week – figures that Rosencrans said he never churned out while training at Pomona-Pitzer. With the more rigorous training regimens of Division I school also comes a better funded program.

“We had a month-long all-expenses-paid trip to Big Bear,” Rosencrans said. “There, I was able to train it out for a little bit of time – and that was a great experience that we never got at a Division III school.”

To aid his transition, Rosencrans dug deep into core values he had already established at the Division III level.

“We emphasize sleep,” Rosencrans said. “Training is only half the game – you have to actually recover, and that’s how you get better. It’s a balancing act between all of those things.”

The other half of Rosencrans’ game?

“From day one at camp, he took an immediate leadership role,” said coach Andrew Ferris. “The guys have looked to him for some leadership from the start.”

Ferris also added that Rosencrans has a mature approach when it comes to racing – one that does not rely heavily on emotion but rather in stride. And so far, he’s done just that. At the Gans Creek Classic in September, Rosencrans brought home a team-leading finish in his first race as a Division I athlete, outplacing opponents who have been at the level for years.

With his first postseason race as a Division I athlete on the horizon, Rosencrans is only getting started.

“At the end of the day, it’s hard because you know you’re always wanting to push yourself to new heights,” Rosencrans said. “But to have a race that you are happy with just means that when you go out there, you give it your all, and you execute the game plan.”