Senior XC runner puts teammates before himself
Senior cross-country and track runner Jon Sandoval’s season is rapidly coming to an end and so is his career at Waynesburg University.
The Chagrin Falls, Ohio native was recruited by head cross-country coach Chris Hardie and took on an interesting role with the cross-country team.
“[Sandoval] always took the roll of ‘I have your back,'” said Hardie. “His thing became, ‘If you fall down, I’ll pick you up.'”
Sandoval embraced this roll and was always there to support his teammates.
“I wasn’t always the fastest runner on the team, but I was there to support anyone that needed it,” said Sandoval.
Sandoval embraced a physical role as well, which resulted in physically moving opponents out of the way so his teammates would have more room to run.
“At some of the bigger meets, like Gettysburg, we had some of the runners who would go out fast and beat the crowd, and we had some runners that weren’t as big, so what we would do, if some of the small guys were around me, is I would plow a path through as much as I could,” said Sandoval.
According to Hardie, Sandoval put his teammates first before his own successes. Sandoval was named captain of the men’s cross-country team this past season and spent the year as a depth runner, who stepped in when other runners were injured.
In one particular instance, Sandoval did not just step in due to an injured teammate but carried that teammate from the place she received the injury to a medical staff booth set up nearby.
Sandoval did not just win the approval of his teammates, but his coach as well.
According to Hardie, the one word to describe Sandoval was: dependable.
“Dependability is the one word when I think of Jon, and he’s a very positive person,” said Hardie. “If I needed anything done, he was the guy I went to.”
According to Hardie, Sandoval was a great teammate and was a respected individual. Sandoval carried a leadership mentality and pushed his team to be the best.
Sandoval will be finishing his senior year as a hurdler for the men’s track & field team at Waynesburg University.
After graduation Sandoval plans on attending Youngstown State or Cleveland State as a graduate assistant.
Sandoval is an education major at Waynesburg and hopes to, one day, become a college professor.