A real trooper

Marmion's Andrew Larsen is The Beacon News Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year.

(Donnell Collins/Special to The Beacon News)

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Senior year is tough, especially if you are the new kid in town.

Knowing this, cross country standout Andrew Larsen still packed up his running shoes and headed to Marmion, where he would have one last opportunity to run as part of a team.

Which was a bit of a shocker for Cadets coach Bob Rebenstorf.

After all, the transfer student from Suburban Catholic Conference rival Montini finished 10th in the 2007 Class 2A state meet and was a shoe-in to make the top 10 again. Marmion, on the other hand, competes in Class 3A and runs a more difficult nonconference schedule.

"He decided he wanted to push himself at a higher level," Rebenstorf said.

And not only did Larsen win almost every meet he ran in, he took eighth earlier this month in the Class 3A competition, -- the highest finish by a boys runner in the Beacon News coverage area. For his accomplishments, Larsen is the publication's Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year.

"It's a pretty good feeling," he said. "This has been a very good redemption year for me. Sophomore year was good, junior year was rocky, so it's good to get back on top where I should be."

While at Montini, Larsen found himself boggled with coaching changes and teammates who could not keep pace with him. For all intents and purposes, he was on his own and in many SCC meets found himself entrenched in the Cadets' pack.

"He had a lot of ups and downs," said Marmion coach Dan Billash, who worked with Larsen during summer running camps.

Because of his intense desire to challenge himself and his strong relationship with Billash, Larsen decided to finish his prep running career at Marmion -- and possibly help the Cadets to a state appearance.

"He wanted to fit in right away," Rebenstorf said.

And while bonding with his teammates came easily, changing his mindset was more difficult in the beginning.

"I had the mentality of an individual runner," he said. "But by the end of the year I was running for my team, so it is a lot easier to keep running strong."

Another hurdle Larsen had to clear was the Waubonsee Community College course. During the 23-team Blackhawk Stampede, Larsen slipped and had to withdraw after injuring his hip in the final mile.

Just two weeks later, he found himself on the same starting line, with many of the same competitors. Only this time he crushed the field en route to the West Aurora Regional title.

"That was his standout moment," Billash said. "I was more elated than with his finish at state. He had gained confidence and turned a corner."

"That's when I realized I could run to my full potential," Larsen said.

Despite a successful season, Larsen's dream of running with a team on the state course failed to materialize when the Cadets finished sixth at the St. Charles East Sectional.

Larsen was visibly shaken when given the news and huddled with his teammates as they addressed their disappointment together.

"State would have been 100 times better if I would have been running with my team," Larsen said. "That's what we really wanted. The team is what really keeps me going and that's what I get really excited about."

Although Larsen's high school career has come to a close, his running days are far from over. Just a week after earning his eighth-place state medal, Larsen competed in the Midwest Regional of the Nike Cross Nationals. His sixth-place finish qualified him to compete in the national finals Dec. 6 in Portland, Ore.

"I'm really excited," he said. "I am thinking about it every day."