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CROSS COUNTRY Chris Butler Boardman boys
For his first time at the state cross country meet, Chris Butler’s finish of 30th out of 186 runners in the boy’s Division I final wasn’t too shabby.
“I was happy with it,” Butler said. “I felt like I could’ve done a little bit better. I was shooting for 24th spot so I could get All-Ohio, but 30th is not that bad.”
What got Butler from not even qualifying for state his junior year to a strong finish at National Trail Raceway his senior year? Butler credits all the offseason work he and Nick DiGiacomo did.
“I basically trained with [Nick] all summer,” Butler said. “I think it helped get me to where I am.
“Running every day in itself is a hard struggle because you don’t want to run every day. He kind of pushed me to do that basically.”
So why get caught up in cross country when you never want to run every day? For Butler it’s all about the results.
“I just happened to be really good at it,” Butler said. “I was too small for football. It’s just an awesome feeling when you train all summer and putting in all that training and then seeing the outcome is just great.”
The state tournament was a new experience from a few perspectives for Butler. Not only was it his first trip to state, but he qualified individually, so he had to run without his teammates on the course with him.
“My entire team actually drove up and supported me, so it wasn’t that much different,” Butler said.
But in terms of speed, state was unlike anything else.
“It’s definitely a lot faster,” Butler said. “I wish I would’ve gotten more experience [at the state level]. I wish I would’ve been there last year.”
Butler isn’t sure where he’s going after graduation, but he hopes to run.
“I’ve been looking at Malone, YSU and Walsh,” he said.