With the encouragement of his mother, Connor Madell ‘16, began his running career at St. Francis Xavier hoping to make new friends. Six years later, he is one of the top runners on the LT boys varsity cross-country team. His success has taken time, dedication and persistence along with the continual support of his coaches, teammates and parents to help get him to where he is now.

“When I started out, I went to my parents for support, but now in high school I heavily rely on my coaches and teammates,” Madell said. “My parents still encourage and help me out with the small things. But those small things go a long way.”

This is Madell’s first year on varsity, and he continues to prove himself every race. Recently, he set a personal three-mile record at Peoria with a time of 15:03. His goal for the state meet, which is Nov. 8 on the same course, is to run a 14:45. The team lost six of its top seven runners last year due to graduation, but has made sure to make this year count despite the setback.

“Other schools might consider this a building year for us,” Head Coach Michael Danner said. “But not in our minds. We have been doing very well this season, and our goal is to place third in state.”

The unity on the team pushes each runner to go harder every race, because they do not want to let their teammates down, Madell said. He has also been an essential part for the cohesiveness and unity of the ream, according to teammate Keefe Mulligan ‘15.

“Connor bonds everyone together,” Mulligan said. “We spend 25-30 hours a week together over the summer, and no one is ever mad at him. He is the best runner on the team, but you wouldn’t know it during practice. He stays humble.”

College wise, Danner said Madell has the capability run at the Division 1 level. While he has not started the college search yet, he expects to hear from colleges by the end of the season.

“I don’t think I’d be able to drop it after all these years of running,” Madell said. “I’ve really come to like the sport and what it offers me. My favorite part of running is being able to push myself past what I thought I was capable of doing. To prove myself wrong.”