Through many years of hard work and dedication, Zach Taylor, senior captain of the boys cross country team, was finally able to break 17 minutes at his last race on October 24 at Huntington University. This is a special course to run on and Zach maintained the school’s tradition for running semi-state by representing Saint Joe proudly.

Huntington University’s course isn’t an easy race to run in but it’s fun with its interesting curves, loops, and hills. This race included many of the top notch teams and runners including Izaiah Steury, who is currently ranked number 3 in the nation among the fastest high school runners. The temperature was around 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the field was flooded with runners.

Despite all these challenges, Zach was able to break 17 minutes with a time of 16:59, an incredible effort with just a one second margin! All parts of his body were sore and in pain but managed to crack a huge smile because he finally broke his season long goal of 17 minutes. It was a wild day as everyone on the team congratulated Zach, and he’s the last member of the Taylor family to run for St. Joe.

For more exciting race clips and stories or to hear how Mr. McCarthy is planning for the upcoming track season, go check out the Cross Country/Track twitter page @SJTrackXC.