Ben Eikey, a senior in Penn-Trafford’s cross country team, has said he has never been the most gifted of runners. In terms of time, Eikey ran 30 minutes for his 5k. For Eikey however, he stated that it was never about the race time, it was about the time he got to spend with the team.

    “The team is essentially a family, it’s a very close knit group.” Eikey said. “If I had to do it over again, I would’ve ran my sophomore and junior year, but last year put massive amount of tension on my ankles and knees.”

    Eikey’s struggle, according to runners alongside him, was present in his last race at the Junior Varsity championships.

    “My lower back was tight and hurting that day.” Eikey commented.

    Eikey, who said he never gave up in a race, received a new motivation.

    Going into the final stretch of the race, Eikey received a chant of “Who do we run for? Ben!” by his fellow JV runners.

     Eikey said this gifted him the courage to finish his final race.

Junior Jordan Prokopec, along with the rest of the JV team, planned this to all finish in unity.

    “I started the Ben Eikey chant.  It was me, Jake Pepple, Chris Catullo, Andrew Reese, Austin Prokopec, Alex Kana, Nick Dolney, and Connor Watson. We let him win so he’d feel good about his final year. The team is like a family, we did something good for our friend,” said Prokopec.

   This send-off from the team was a “good ending [to the season]” according to Eikey.

    Though proud of his senior year accomplishments, Eikey said to have felt regret in regards to his sophomore and junior year.

   As Eikey looks forward, he will not be running, but pursuing other goals.  

    Venturing into his future, Eikey will be attending WCCC in hopes of becoming 2018 Teen Mr. Pittsburgh in bodybuilding. He will be moving on from WCCC to Miami University.

   In April and May of 2018, Eikey will be competing in his first bodybuilding contest: The Mountaineer Classic in the Pittsburgh Mid Atlantic Cup Championship.

    The Mountaineer Classic is apart of the National Physical Committee’s Mid -Atlantic Competition, in which the states of  Pennsylvania, Ohio, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Kentucky compete to have the best-looking physique.

    This competition leads to the NPC’s nationwide competition, in which the “best of the best” compete.

    As of now, however, he described the past four years with fond memories, such as races and trips out to eat afterward.

     “I remember going to IHOP my first year, that has to be my favorite memory.” Eikey said.

    Eikey reflected upon his senior season, saying people should run XC because “It’s very fun… from the start of the summer conditionings to the end in late October, you’ll never find a better family.”

 

Kaiden Ciongoli