For the first time in his high school career, senior varsity cross country runner Connor Mehalovich was surprised at the finish line win he realized he had won the regionals race on Oct. 22.

“At the finish line, I didn’t know realize what was going on,” Mehalovich said. “It kind of surprised that I was the first one to finish.”

Mehalovich began running cross country as a freshman and began running varsity during his sophomore year on up. In the two previous years before, Mehalovich had placed in the top 15 in both of his regional races. This year, Mehalovich was looking to run a great race, and ended up with a personal record of 17:01 and the title of regional champion. Before most races Mehalovich is mostly calm and ready for the race to start; he never really feels nervous and just expects to run his best.

“I never really get nervous before a race. I like to stay calm and run my race,” Mehalovich said.

Mehalovich trains everyday in practice running whatever the coach tells them to run. With the season coming to a close last Saturday at state, he plans on running long distances to stay in shape and keep up his stamina.

“I’m going to pick up my training level, running longer and harder,” Mehalovich said. “I’m definitely going to get in a few road races and marathons.”

By Eric Howes

Photo by Kelsey Floyd