Sports require running, it’s just a fact, but what if a student’s sport is running? When thinking about running sports, most people’s mind immediately goes to track and field but at the high school the cross country team is running under the radar.
The boys cross country team has had a very successful year placing in competitive meets throughout the season and winning the 5A state championship on Nov. 2, with five individual medalist and Logan Beckman, 12, winning the individual state title.
What many people don’t see is the story behind the state championship with many athletes starting their running career at a young age.
“I’ve been running since I was nine,” Jack Janovick, 12, said “before I went into elementary school I had a babysitter
whose son ran at K-State and he was really into running, I just joined off that.”
Like Janovick, Daghyn True, 12 also started running at a young age.
“I’ve been running since I was little. My brothers grew up running and my dad was a coach at my old school, so I was just around it my whole life growing up, that’s why I first went into [running],” True said.
As runners get older perspectives change, and it gets harder and harder to place as an individual in a meet.
“In middle school I started going to like AAU Junior Olympics events we would go like North Carolina to run, and that’s when I started taking running super seriously…as a freshman I thought it would be the same as middle school but it was a lot different…In middle school, you could be the best just because you did club in the off season but in high school it’s like you’re competing with people who are the same skill level as you,” Janovick said.
With a higher level of competition, comes higher goals, and a higher level of dedication.
“[In] middle school I knew I wanted to run and go to college for it, but it probably wasn’t until freshman year [that] I really took it seriously and really focused on it as much as I do now…Freshman year was a lot different from now. I remember I just wanted to go to state that year, I wanted to try to beat some upperclassmen. Now the goals are more winning a state championship, qualifying for national, things like that. The goals are just on a large scale,” True said.
True is new to the high school this year, transferring from Emporia prior to his senior year. True was a positive asset to the team this season and transferring not only helped the team but also them individually.
“Most of the time, at my old school, I didn’t really have a supporting group around me…but now with the new team and guys around me it’s a lot easier to train with a group so now, the team factors in a lot more and the focus is a lot more on that than it used to be…They really brought me in with open arms and were really excited when I was here and I was [excited] to, I think I just fit in really well with them,” True said.
After completing their goal of winning a state championship title, the Broncos will compete at the NXR national qualifier on Nov. 10, hoping to continue their successful season.
