Dylan Croeni

Years: 2008, 2009, 2010

Dylan's passion for distance running put Washougal on the XC map. This was one of his primary goals that he achieved in his 3 years competing in the Panther XC program.

Dylan's first experience with distance running came during his freshman year in track. His first race was far from spectacular effort in at 5:43.6 for 1600 meters. His passion while "chasing" his distance running goals fostered significant season improvement, accomplishing a decent mark of 11:19.38 for 3200 meters. However, this mark was still just slightly above average for a freshman boy. The next fall, giving up golf for becoming the #1 Panther XC runner was an easy choice for Dylan, qualifying for the State Championships in the process.

From Sophomore to Junior year, Dylan moved from 74th to 4th at the 2A State Meet, qualifying for Border Clash in the process. What took him to the next level that year was is daily commitment to run each day, even if it was running around the block late at night. His exceptional commitment was ironic, considering he refused to dress down for P.E. in middle school due to his aversion for running at that time.

Dylan's increased core strength his senior year took him one rung higher on the XC success ladder. Nearly everywhere he raced, he would "run away" with the course record. One exception was at the Concordia Puma Classic, placing 5th behind two state champions (Oregon 6A and Alaska 4A) and two other fine Oregon runners; his effort of 15:28.2 stood as our School Record for eight years.

His State Meet performance provided the biggest excitement of the day for all fans as he challenged the defending 2A state champion to the closest finish of the meet. Dylan actually had a lead by a half of step or so when the two relentless runners crested the hill at the 3 mile mark. His second place (15:31.9) finish by a mere 1.1 seconds was over 20 seconds faster than any previous 2A runner up clocking.

Dylan wrapped up his Panther distance running career as the 3200 Meter State Champion in Track.

Best Memory

2010 Run-A-Ree: Crossing the finish line with a Course Record and a 40+ second School Record

Words of Advice

Follow your heart. Never let anyone keep you from taking greatness. Stay the course and leave it all on the course!

'Runner of the Week' Links

Placings