Valley View senior repeats as area’s top runner

Kasperski had a successful season in which he qualified for the state meet again, finishing 14th overall.

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By Skip Weaver, Staff Writer 1:39 AM Friday, November 20, 2009

GERMANTOWN — Jake Kasperski knows as well as anyone that you can do a lot more than you think if you work hard enough.

The Valley View High School senior was just a soccer player until two years ago.

Two years later, Kasperski is a two-time Division II state cross country qualifier who earned All-Ohio honors this season as a senior.

“The experience has been great,” said Kasperski, The Journal’s cross country runner of the year for the second consecutive year. “I’ve really learned to appreciate the sport. The whole experience has been better than I could have expected. I’m glad I made the decision to start running.”

Kasperski said he always thought running three miles “sounded like torture” when his coach (Denny Shepherd) tried to get him out for the team as a freshman.

“Now I wish I would have started running earlier,” Kasperski said. “It’s really been a fulfilling experience. This sport is pure competition. Race after race, you are competing against yourself and other people.”

Kasperski said he dropped 20-30 seconds off his times this year, but his main goal was to return to state. He did that after placing sixth at the regional meet in Troy.

He then ran a time of 16 minutes, 27.96 seconds at Scioto Downs in Columbus for his 14th-place finish at the state meet. The top 25 finishers earned all-state honors.

“I’m really happy with this year,” said Kasperski, who moved up from a 28th-place finish at state last season. “Everyone went out fast just like last year, but I just tried to run my race.

“At about the one or one-and-a-half mile mark, I started picking up places,” he continued. “I felt I was close to the top 15 when I crossed the finish line, but I didn’t know at first.”

Kasperski will now turn his attention toward returning to the state track meet. He was a state qualifier last year in the 3,200-meter run.

“If I could repeat, that would be awesome,” Kasperski said. “If you work hard enough, you can be successful at things you never thought you could.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2852

or sweaver@coxohio.com.

All-Area Cross Country Team

Boys

Andy Bowyer, Middletown, Soph.

GMC second team and placed 47th at D-I regional meet

Richard Patterson, Lebanon, Sr.

GWOC South first team and placed 42nd at D-I regional meet

Girls

Michelle Brunswick, Madison, Fr.