The Dover cross country team’s season has recently come to a fruitful end and with that, four year runner Chase Daniels has completed his final season. This season, Chase made it all the way to the State Championship, and placed 20th out of 215 runners. He’s been a major contributor to several of Dover’s successes this season, and as part of bidding him farewell, I interviewed him and asked Chase to reflect on his past and future in distance running.

Question: How did you get into the sport?

Response: “I started in Kindergarten from my friends and family telling me to try cross country. I had tried other sports at the time, but cross country was the only one to stick with me.”

Question: Have there been any major changes to the team that you’ve noticed in your time on it?

Response: “The only major change I’ve seen is that people are willing to work harder and stay more consistent over the years. My freshman year, there wasn’t always a lot of self-discipline and focus, but as the years went on, we trained harder and would hold everyone accountable.”

Question: What was your favorite memory from any season?

Response: “My favorite memory from any season was from my sophomore year of track, when we broke the school record for the 4×800 relay and qualified for regionals. The race got delayed 3 or 4 times from thunderstorms and when it was finally our turn to run, we got the school record despite all odds.”

Question: Are there any past runners that you’ve particularly missed over the years?

Response: “A couple notable runners I’ve missed training with are Luke Jones, Brian Hutchison, and Carson Roberson.”

Question: What was the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome in cross?

Response: “My biggest obstacle I had to overcome was having exercised induced asthma and transitioning into more intense training with it in my first few years of high school.”

Question: What are your plans for the future?

Response: “My plans are to run cross country and track in college and major in either biomedical or aerospace engineering.”

Question: If you could leave people with one piece of advice for the sport what would it be?

Response: “Overall, the most important aspect of becoming a faster, stronger runner is to stay consistent every day no matter the circumstances.”

       Chase finished his final season with an overall personal record of 15:58 for the three mile run, also having set several school records, and when taking into account his medical impediment his story appears like one of inspiration; as even with a condition which some might see as a deterrent for such an intense sport he was able to become one of the school’s greatest runners. He worked as a major motivator and mentor to his teammates, holding the role of captain, and serving as an inspiration to everyone who ran with him. While he will certainly be missed, his future looks bright, and he’ll leave a lasting legacy on the cross country team for years to come.