Thomas Durant has won Raider Wire’s bet for November Athlete of the Month, as he was the only one to make it to state for cross country. He has long been the lead athlete for cross country this year, having placed highest on the team by score.  He was the only person on his team to score high enough to qualify for the state championship in 2024 His performance at State can be viewed at Mile Split.

Durand has been running Cross Country for four years now, starting his running career in the eighth grade.  He also swam on the swim team before that during the summers of his idle school years. In high school he primarily devotes himself to Cross country in the fall, and track in the spring. During  track season, he runs the eight hundred and sixteen hundred races. He plans to continue his career in his senior year, and in college.

Durand’s motivation for running is his teammates. They all try to be the fastest runner on the team with Durand usually coming out on top. The fierce competition between friends is what drives him to finish the race and score well for the team. This competitive nature led him to what he considers his greatest achievement in cross country, which was qualifying for state this year.

He says that his favorite part of running is finishing ahead of his teammates. He loves the thrill of crossing the finish line and seeing the faces of his friends cheering him on. Outside of school Durand has been focusing on himself in many ways such as eating enough and getting at least eight hours of sleep at night. The Cross Country practice schedule is very demanding physically and mentally, having an hour of practice Monday through Friday at six AM. This arduous schedule often requires the athletes to prioritize their sleep schedule over going out with friends and other compelling choices on how their night is spent.