By Ken Hansard
After a rough sophomore year where he struggled with illness and asthma, Wichita Northwest High cross country runner EJ Edwards bounced back in a big way last year as a junior. In fact, his junior campaign was so successful, that EJ enters his senior year as one of the City League’s favorites and as our VYPE poll winner.
EJ, who placed fifteenth overall at last year’s City League Championship Meet and 61st overall at the 6A State Championships, ran a personal best time of 16:42. That was good enough for Edwards to be recognized with a place on the All-Metro Third Team for the Wichita area. Now, as a senior, Edwards is looking to equal or surpass those numbers. After his unfortunate stint as a sophomore, Edwards had to take it slowly coming back, but now that he is fully healthy, that is no longer a hindrance, “I worked hard in the off-season to increase my mileage to what I had commonly run to prepare for my previous cross country seasons. Being consistent was a major focus for me. I want to medal at state this year, and hopefully break the 16-minute barrier.”
As for his role on the team, Edwards had this to say, “I see myself as a team captain. I want to make sure everyone is focused on what needs to be done, and I want to do that without ruining the positive energy we have.” Under that leadership, Edwards believes that the Grizzlies, as a unit, are ready to have a breakout year, also, “I believe we’ve come back stronger and prepared for the season.”
So far so good. The Grizzlies ran their first meet on Saturday, September 7th, and Edwards ran a 16:53, which already is just eleven seconds off his P.R., even though the season is in its infancy. As for the rest of his teammates, their performance was strong overall, as well, “Our boys looked faster than ever for our first race. I want to see the boys’ varsity make it to state as a team, and I want to see all of my teammates meet their goals for the season. As for me, I want to break our school record of 16:23. If I do happen to do that accomplish that… Then I will want to adjust my goal and see if can go low 16, or even sub-16.”
Following graduation from Northwest, Edwards, who boasts a solid 3.68 G.P.A., would love to continue to run at the collegiate level. His current plan is to study Finance and Accounting. He is still undecided as to which school he would like to attend.
