Junior Ben Pickett ran as fast as he could.

The race was close for a long time, but Pickett finally began to pull away.  He was pushed by the thought that if he didn’t win, he was letting down his team.  Pickett ended up beating his opponent by 20 seconds, with a time of 17 minutes, 25 seconds.

This race was not only monumental for Pickett, but for the JC cross country team as a whole.  The team won its first meet in eight years, largely due to Pickett’s first-place finish.

In cross country, the team that scores the fewest points is the winner. Each player earns the amount of points equivalent to the place in which they finish the race. Pickett earned only one point for his first-place finish, helping keep the team’s score down.

However, Pickett refused to take all the credit for the win. “A lot of the guys did really well,” he said.  In particular, junior Andrew Ellis stepped up, finishing second for the team and third overall.

A lot of hard work and preparation went into the win. According to Pickett, a typical practice is a seven-mile run or a difficult workout with different intervals.  Interval running involves running hard for a set distance.  Pickett was glad to see all of those miles create positive results in the race.

Pickett has been running cross country since his freshman year at JC.  He really likes the team’s coach, Mike Monaghan, because Monaghan knows what he is doing.  Pickett also likes the other runners on the team.  “We have a great time together,” Pickett said.

Monaghan was pleased with Pickett’s victory.  Monaghan went as far to say that he expected Pickett to win.  “There are only two or three runners in our league that can keep up with Ben,” Monaghan said.

Monaghan also complemented Pickett’s hard work during practice. “He [Pickett] leads almost every run and encourages his teammates to work to their fullest.”

Pickett also earned the spot of co-captain on the team; something Monaghan says is usually reserved for seniors.  “Ben has shown he deserved this spot a year early.  His excellent work ethic and dedication to the sport provide one of the best motivators for his teammates,” Monaghan said.

While happy about the win against McDonogh, Pickett thinks that there are more challenging opponents still to come.  However, he thinks that if everyone does their best and runs like they did against McDonogh, the season will go well. 

Reid can be reached for comment at [email protected].