With the indoor track season coming to an end, I took some time to talk to two of the top distance runners in the program to reflect on the winter and look ahead to the spring. With two meets remaining, one in Mercersburg, PA and one at the University of Pennsylvania, runners will have their final chance to break personal and school records. Senior Brandon Smoot and Junior Roman Zentek, both top runners on the cross country team, shared how impressed they have been with their teammates throughout the season.
For seniors, the outdoor season will be their final chance to make their mark on the program and mentor their younger teammates. Smoot has run for both the track and cross country teams since sophomore year, and echoed the feelings that many seniors express heading into their final season, “It all went by so fast, but I’m excited to go run outdoor and get a chance to run faster times.” Smoot’s 4:46 mile and 10:23 two-mile lead DeMatha seniors in those events. Smoot expressed how impressed he was with the freshman runners, citing that freshmen Kenneth Osuji (10:57 in the 2-mile and 5:15 in the mile) and Lucas Moisiuk (5:19 in the mile) have “really surprised” him and “come to practice ready to work.”
His longtime teammate, senior Daden Grogan, leads the team in the 800 with a 1:54. Grogan is one of the legs of the 4×400 relay team that ran a 3:16 at the Spire Scholastic Showcase Meet in Ohio, which is #11 in the nation. The relay team was made up of Grogan, sophomores Josiah Brown-Price and Jalen Stubbs and junior Miles Dixon.
Junior Roman Zentek, the fastest runner on the cross country team, leads the mile with a 4:41 and the 1000 meter with a 2:45. Zentek is specifically focused on runners that will be a part of the cross country team, pointing out that sophomores Phillip Marshall and Elijah Hawkins have taken “massive steps in their running careers” as first year distance runners for track, because it “keeps you in shape year around”. Zentek, who is in his recruitment process to run in college, says that he is “just trying to stay focused for the outdoor season”, and his teammates plan to do the same.
