[ad_1]
Camden Leyland knows he’s a little weird.
North Andover High School juniors are elite track runners, but not cross-country runners.
“Basically all long-distance runners do cross-country,” he said. “But I’ve played soccer my whole life and I love soccer. My coach was very understanding, but a lot of people tried to get me to switch to cross-country. But I always stuck to what I wanted to do and never let anyone change my mind.I wanted to finish my football life strong.”
Now that high school football season is officially in the books, Leyland is fully focused on the track. And one year after winning two national honors as a relay runner at the New Balance Nationals, Leyland is excited for a breakout senior season.
“It’s very exciting to be back on track,” he said. “This is my last season (indoor and outdoor) and my last dance as a runner. We would like to bring it back to the Nationals, but we want to transfer that success to individual events.”
So far, Reiland is off to a red-hot start.
At the MSTCA Northeast Invitational on Sunday, Leyland finished second in the 1,000m in 2:34.01, just .02 ahead of the North Andover school record, setting a personal best of 2:39.79 ( PR) has been defeated. .
“I haven’t run a real 1,000 since last year,” said Reiland. “We run without spikes in (indoor track) league games, so it was my first time running a race with real spikes. It was really exciting. I did.”
Leyland followed that up with a 4th-place finish in the distance medley relay at the Northeast Invitational.
North Andover men’s indoor track coach Jason Guarente is thrilled to have Leyland back on the track.
“Every time Cam steps onto the track, our whole team seems to see what he can do,” said Guarente. “He sets his example and has been a great captain for us so far this year.”
Leyland spent the fall playing football (he was captain and starting defender), but most of his teammates were running cross-country, but he said he had no trouble reintegrating into the team.
“My teammates have been really welcoming,” he said. “It’s so great to have the community pushing me and making me better every day. They really challenge me.”
Last spring, Reiland teamed with Ryan Connolly, Ronan McGarry and Jack Determan to finish 3rd in the New Balance Nationals championship division 4xmile relay and 2nd in the championship 4×800 relay. .
Although he is off to a fast start in the 1,000, Leyland said his true favorite event is the mile. Last winter he finished third in the Division 1 Championship event (4:24.91). Last spring he finished 6th in Division 2 (4:23.04) and 8th at Allstate (4:21.97).
“I can run anything from 400 miles to 2 miles,” he said. “But miles are my sweet spot. Nothing too long, no 16 laps. You have to know how to pace yourself and when to use spurts of energy at the right time. This is very is strategic to
He may rarely run cross-country, but by playing football and running track, he credits himself with getting better at both sports.
“When I was playing defense in football, if my coach would run to me for help, the track would give me speed and endurance, and I could play the whole game and keep running. Soccer has made me an excellent leader in track and field, and I am transferring that leadership from soccer to unite teammates who are far away.As a captain, I am a strong leader. want to become”
Twitter: DWillisET
[ad_2]
Source link
