Credit: Courtesy of: Bo Finnegan

Senior Luke Chisum rounds a corner during his race. Chisum has been on the cross country team since his freshman year and is now committed to Elon University.

Wind blowing, heart racing and feet pounding on the ground, senior Luke Chisum rounds a corner to see the finish line. Chisum started cross country in sixth grade and has run his way up to being a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athlete at Elon University this coming fall.

Chisum knew he wanted to play a sport in college. For him, it came down to choosing between baseball and cross country, and he chose the latter.

“The schools that wanted me to run for them were also the type of schools that I could see myself at, so that was a big deciding factor,” Chisum said.

For some student athletes, the recruitment process can pose as stressful. This year, there were several changes occuring in the NCAA, so some Division I schools didn’t have roster space for recruits. For cross country, the roster space is limited to 17 spots, leading to several colleges cutting players or not recruiting at all. However, Chisum says Elon was the perfect choice for him, as it was his top choice and had roster space.

“I’m very excited for the new opportunities Elon will offer me,” Chisum said. “Being able to train year round will be something that’s new for me, and I can’t wait to see my improvement.”

Although Chisum is excited to start his college cross country journey, the transition from a high school level sport to a Division I college level sport could be difficult. To prepare for this transition, he’s began training year-round and will be running an indoor season this year.

“I’ve never done this before, so it’s definitely a new experience,” Chisum said. “I’m also planning on running in open races where I run unattached to a team.”

During his high school running career, one person who has made a profound impact has been high school cross country coach Mark Mayall.

“[Mayall] always gets us well prepared and gives us a good training plan to follow throughout the whole season,” Chisum said. “He always makes us taper down for the State meet and gets us to run best times towards the end of the season, which is what’s important.”

Chisum’s family has also made a big impact on Chisum’s decision to run. His mother ran for Princeton University, team “Reebok Boston,” and eventually went as far as running in two Olympic trials. His father also ran in college, for Brandeis University, as well as also being on the “Reebok Boston” team. According to Chisum, he has felt inspired to succeed in running based on his family’s history, and has been consistently trying to improve his game.

“I think the biggest change I made through my high school career is adding mileage and staying consistent with my training for summer training and my high school seasons,” Chisum said. “I have been starting my training earlier and have become more disciplined.”

Running isn’t always just one constant uphill slope. The good races also come with the bad, and the practices can be long and draining. However, Chisum likes to stay positive.

“I like to envision race day and how good I’m gonna feel during a race,” Chisum said. “I know every day and practice matters to get that extra second or half a second off during my races. Also, there’s no better feeling than beating someone.”

After running his personal record of 15:41.70 at the Twilight invitational meet in Cape Cod on Oct. 12, Chisum’s final Wayland cross country season came to a close. Chisum will cherish the WHS team and wishes the best of luck to all the future runners of WHS.

“I hope that me and other runners going on beyond high school running can inspire other Wayland athletes to work hard, make the team better and maybe go to the collegiate level as well,” Chisum said.