By Ken Hansard
Rose Hill senior Samuel Lovell got into cross country in the same way many kids do. When he started out, he was running for his love of another sport; however, as time passed, he grew to love the sport of running itself, “I’ve always had a love for sports since a young age and have competed in several sports. My love for running started in eighth grade when my parents recommended I do it to get in shape for basketball. and it eventually became my main sport.”
Fast-forward four years, and Lovell is now leading the way for the Rockets on the course. He has been named the team captain and therefore also leads his teammates, metaphorically, as a mentor. “I am very optimistic; I think we are going to have a much stronger team. Personally, I am also optimistic about my own prospects this year.”
So far, so good. Lovell, who was named First-Team All-League last year, will be competing in Division IV of the AVCTL this year, and in his only race so far this year, he came in strong with an 11th place finish. However, despite his solid placing, it still doesn’t meet the standard that Samuel plans to attain, “I’m running with the same team as last year, and we’re hoping to improve overall team performance. My personal best last year was 18:05 in the 5k. My season ended at regionals during a rough race where the course and weather got the best of me, and I didn’t race my best. I have bigger goals. I’m planning on going to state and getting onto our school record board for my final year.”
Samuel seems fully capable of achieving those goals and more, and to prepare for that, he did a lot of work in the off-season in hopes of doing something that he couldn’t achieve last season – staying fully healthy for the duration of the season, “I just need to stay healthy and stay consistent in my training. In the off-season, I did a lot of cross training and personal physical therapy.”
There isn’t a whole lot of off-season for Samuel, as he also swims and runs track. Last spring on the track for the Rockets, he ran a 10:41 in the 3200 and 4:51 in the 1600, even though he was working through injuries throughout most of his junior campaign.
When he’s not competing for the Rockets in sports, Samuel stays active in Rose Hill’s school culture. He is a member of the Student Council and the prestigious National Honors Society. He is also an active member in his favorite club, FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes).
Lovell’s plan for after graduation is to go to college. He is still undecided on a school; he would like to study to become a teacher and a coach at the high school level. Samuel also wants to be a youth pastor and says of that ambition, “That is something I just feel called to do.”
