Although many people would think it’s absurd to go out of the way to run several miles in their spare time, Ethan Hughes and the rest of the cross country team have made it into a daily habit. Hughes, junior, is finally getting settled into the start of his first full year at Shadow Ridge High School. Even though he’s been running for a long time, Hughes hasn’t participated in a full season of cross country yet, due to a couple interesting years of restrictions. Now though, after all the training he’s done over the last several years, Hughes is ready to swing into this season like a wrecking ball and take out not only all of his competition, but also his current record of a 17:11 5k.

Although the other schools have a lot of talent, Hughes believes that the Men’s Mustang Varsity Cross Country Team has a shot at taking a trip to state, and potentially being accompanied by an extremely talented girls team. Being third on the team, the way Hughes runs in the rest of the season has a huge impact on the rest of the team achieving that goal and that chance at state. For others, this might be a lot of pressure, but Hughes simply uses it as fuel and motivation to improve.

“I love the feeling of success as a confidence booster from running, but I don’t like the everyday fatigue,” Hughes explained.

As an athlete, especially at his level, Hughes must push his body to extreme limits on a daily basis and it can definitely be tiring. On top of that, Hughes has other concerns in his life outside of his cross country career.

Hughes stated, “I really struggle with the balance between school sports and friends so every once in a while I have to stay up late at night to catch up.”

Hughes isn’t only known for being one of the quickest and most committed on the team. He’s also known for being one of the most interestingly dressed and excitingly competitive people out there. His short shorts and brightly colored shirts stand out among the rest of the runners. In particular, many of his fellow athletes are appalled and embarrassed by his “short jorts” that he enjoys sporting at least once a week. However, he always manages to get a laugh out of his teammates and make running more enjoyable for everybody.

Senior Captain Dennis Speaks shared, “I love having Ethan as a teammate. He is always there to give you a good laugh when you need it and he never seems to be in a bad mood. He is definitely something else, but when it comes down to training, his work ethic is beyond many others’ and his running shows it. Ethan is definitely somebody I am proud to run alongside.” Coach Robert Nelson added, “Ethan is a high energy athlete and when focused does a great job pushing himself to succeed next to the best runners in the city.”

With a thrilling close to the season up ahead, the entire school needs to keep an eye out for what Hughes and his teammates can do.