Junior Luke Denninger has been running cross country since his freshman year and has been on varsity for three years. This year Denninger was voted by his teammates to be one of the captains of the boys team.

“It’s an honor, and it’s good knowing my teammates look up to me and respect me as a leader,” Denninger said.

Denninger also has been holding his varsity spot by running consistently under 21 minute 5K times, with his personal record at 19:17.

He believes that the key to running is being able to mentally push oneself.

“You gotta run daily. You have to be persistent and motivated to better yourself and become a great runner,” Denninger said.

Denninger credits his success to head coach Lee Sims, who has pushed him and his team to always be their best.

“He’s a great coach. He has experience running and usually does the workouts right along with us,” Denninger said.

He said that his favorite thing about running cross country is the family-like environment that the team has. Denninger will be competing next on Sept. 19 at Norwood Golf Course in Poplar, WI.