By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
An old saying goes that “good things happen to good people”. If that applies to high school students, then it lot of hard work and definitely applies to Manchester senior Connor Darnell. A whole lot of hard work and determination has made Darnell one of the top male cross-country runners in southeast Ohio and on Saturday, September 30, he achieved one of his personal goals, breaking the school record for time in a cross-country race.
The previous record at Manchester High School had been set in 2016 by Ethan Pennywitt and it lasted seven years before Darnell appeared in the Portsmouth Invitational last Saturday. On a flat course designed perfectly for fast time, Darnell finished third overall in the high school boys race, but more importantly, he crossed the finish line in a time of 16:53.1, etching his name in the MHS record books.
“Three years ago when I started my running journey at Manchester, the school record was just a thought or even a dream you might say,” said Darnell. “Slowly it started to look very achievable. Coming into this season I was about 20 seconds off and knew with the right training and preparation, I could do it. The Portsmouth course was very flat and I knew coming into it there would be no better day.”
“If you would have told me three years ago that I would be a record holder at Manchester for cross-country, I would have laughed,” Darnell continued. “But now with great love and support from my family, friends and community, that dream is a reality and along with that I would say that I am in some pretty good company.”
Darnell’s cross-country coach this season is Sean Inman, who shared his thoughts on his senior runner’s accomplishment.
“Connor had a great summer of training so we had some really high expectations for him this season,” said Inman. “After running his personal record of 17:17 in the first race of the season. we knew that Ethan Pennywitt’s school record could be within reach. Unfortunately right after that first race, Connor was dealing with a knee injury and had to take a couple of weeks off. After physical therapy and rest, he has really worked hard to get back to where he was. Last week he ran another PR on a tough Rio Grande course (17:05) and with meets at Portsmouth and Unioto coming up, we knew he had a shot at the record if he stayed healthy.”
“Saturday we had some great weather in Portsmouth and there were some other great runners that Connor could compete with. He ran a very smart and strategic race and it was great to see him run a 16:53 and get the record.”
“It’s been a pleasure to coach such a hard-working young man and to see him reach his goals is so rewarding as his coach. With only a few weeks left in the season, Connor will continue to work towards a couple more team and individual goals.”