MUSKEGON TOWNSHIP - Cross country may be a team sport, but it also involves a significant “you vs. you” element.
Every race is a challenge for runners to improve their personal best times and become more valuable team members in the process.
Reeths-Puffer sophomore Dylan Sturr has been winning the “you vs. you” battle in an amazing, one-sided rout.
He’s been improving his year-to-year times this season by huge chunks rarely seen in high school cross country.
The biggest example came in the season-opening Eagle Invitational at Fruitport Calvary Christian.
R-P runner Dylan Sturr, right, passes an opponent.
Last year, as a new freshman, Sturr finished with a not-so-great time of 24 minutes and 25 seconds. At this year’s event in August, he finished in 20:10, a full four minutes and 15 seconds faster.
It wouldn’t have been surprising if someone had asked him who he was and what he did with the real Dylan.
But that jaw-dropping improvement was no fluke, as Sturr has repeatedly demonstrated all season.
At the West Ottawa Invitational Sturr was 2 minutes, 47 seconds faster than last year. At the Michigan State University Spartan Invitational, he was 2:48 faster than last year. At last weekend’s Allendale Invitational, he was 2:10 faster.
R-P boys cross country coach Darin Grant has been stunned and extremely pleased by the change.
Sturr, left, competes at Fruitport Calvary Christian in August.
“He has dropped two minutes of time every single time, on every course,” Grant said. “It’s a huge improvement. It’s normal for someone to improve quite a bit between their freshman and sophomore years, but not typically by 2:30 to 2:50.
“He has been amazing.”
Sturr’s huge improvement has not put him among the elite runners on his team or in the area.
Typically the better high school boys are turning in times in the 16- or 17-minute range at this point of the season. For example, R-P’s top runner, senior Jaxon Allen, finished in 15:59 on a fast track and finished sixth at last weekend’s Allendale Invitational.
So Sturr still has a long way to go – but he’s definitely making progress.
At the MSU Spartan Invitational on Sept. 15 he turned in a time of 19:52. At Grand Rapids South Christina a week later he rolled in at 18:30. At the Sept. 27 O-K Green meet he regressed a bit to 20:14, then at last Saturday’s Allendale Invitational he dropped back down to 18:45.
Sturr, right, runs right behind teammate and fellow sophomore Jack Yonkman.
Sturr has transformed himself from a back-of-the-pack kid to someone in the middle, passing other runners and moving up significantly in the final standings.
In cross country a team’s score is based on where its top five runners place. The higher you place, the more points you secure for your team.
Between the first and second O-K Conference Jamborees this season, Sturr went from finishing 58th to 34th. That’s a huge move up the ladder.
“Last year he was sometimes on the varsity, sometimes not on the varsity,” Grant said. “He was our number seven or eight runner. He was never a point scorer for us last year. I don’t think he ever finished in our top five.
“This year he has been a scorer for us. He is not a naturally gifted athlete. He has a lot of slow muscle fibers. But he is building endurance and running faster and faster.”
That’s exactly what Sturr had in mind after his freshman season. He wanted to get a lot better and started working out on his own and pushing himself hard during practice.
“I just feel like I’m more dedicated than last year,’ Sturr said. “Last year, when we had a hard workout day, I would wonder when it was going to be over. This year I have the realization that you have to put in the work and it will pay off. I have tried to push myself to the limits of what I can do.”
Even after all the hard work, Sturr said he was still pretty shocked when he rolled in at a person record-18:30 at Grand Rapids South Christian.
“I thought, ‘There’s no way I can run this fast!’” he said.
