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Sports

Athlete of the Week: Hinsdale South Runner Matt Longoria

The latest in a series of interviews with star athletes

Being the only returning starter for your team can be challenging, especially in a sport like cross country, where it is just as much an individual as it is a team sport. 

 junior Matt Longoria, however, is setting himself as a good example for his teammates. He finished ninth on Monday in a tough dual meet against Downers Grove South and Morton, clocking in with a time of 16:50 for the 3-mile race. In a sea of blue, maroon and the occasional green jersey, the Darien native did very well on a race course that was muddy, wet and uneven with the constant threat of rain looming over the horizon. 

He is Darien’s Athlete of the Week. 

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How do you feel after today’s race? I feel good. It was a good race today. I’ve been getting over being sick. Had a bad head cold. Kept me down the last couple of races.

How long have you been running? Since fifth grade, so middle school.

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What attracted you to running over other sports? My brother had been running cross country, so I thought I’d give it a try. It’s been a good atmosphere and a good team environment. It’s a lot of fun.

When you’re not practicing, how much do you run per day? I just run with the team, for the most part. On a normal training day I run 6-7 miles. On the long days we run up to 10 miles.

Do you also run track? Yeah, I run the 2-mile and 1-mile. Last year I ran with the sophomore team and we did really well.

Do you listen to music while running? During the offseason, yeah, especially during winter. Helps take my mind off the cold. I like listening to anything upbeat.

Given any thought to running for college? Yeah, actually, I’m hoping to, but we’ll see right now.

What about what you’d like to major in? Engineering.

Last question … what’s the longest distance you’ve run in a single sitting? Um … I think the longest I ran in one sitting would have to be 13 miles.

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