Marshall Runs Away with Male Gamer of the Week Honors
Teays Physical Therapy Center, Inc. and The Putnam Herald are pleased to present this week’s male Gamer of the Week to freshman, Brayden Marshall of the Winfield High School cross country team.
Freshman runner, Brayden Marshall has had quite the introduction to the high school cross country scene this year. His first year of high school started behind schedule and online, and his first race didn’t occur until early September, then he didn’t get to race again for another month. Despite these challenges, Marshall looked up at the end of the season and found himself earning third place in the state cross country meet.
The year started with Brayden running in the St. Mary’s meet at Cabell Midland on September 5. With 129 runners from across the state, Marshall took the nerves in stride and placed 9th. He was the first freshman to cross the finish line and was pleased with the result as a starting point. “It felt great. Time-wise, it was a little slower than I’d like to be, but otherwise I was pretty pleased overall to start that way,” stated Marshall. The real difference maker though in terms of the confidence it instilled in Brayden came at the Putnam County Championship meet. With several other top runners competing on school’s in the county, it was a big test for the freshman. “There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding that event because we didn’t know if it was going to be our last race or what was going to happen. The other schools had some really competitive runners that I was a little nervous to compete against. But being able to go out and run a PR at the time for me of 16:28 was really nice and set me off on a good foot for the rest of the year.” Brayden finished second in the meet behind fellow junior teammate, Matthew Scheneberg.
Brayden’s work ethic was highlighted by coach, Shawn Anderson as the most impressive aspect of the youngster during the season. “His work ethic and desire to get better sets him apart. He’s determined to get better each day and brings a great attitude to practice. He is a pleasure to coach and is just an all around great young man.” Brayden made that work ethic evident by stating his favorite thing about running. “When you’re running, everything is in your control. There’s a lot that can be gained by natural talent in running, but even more than that, it’s a lot about the work you put in and the lengths you’re willing to go. It all comes down to how bad you want it and how much you want to work for it.”
Brayden finished the season 2nd out of 139 at the Autumn Classic with a time of 16:36, 2nd out of 31 at Winfield’s regional meet with a time of 16:21, and 3rd out of 69 at the AA State meet with a time of 16:39. His performance was good enough to let the rest of the state know that he will be someone to keep an eye on over the next few years.
With dreams of running in college, Brayden stays pretty busy throughout the year with other activities as well. He will also run for the track team in the spring, was a member of the National Junior Honor Society, and helps coach his sister’s soccer team on occasion. He tries to stay competitive in the offseason by running in local 5K’s and other races.
Please look for other local high school athletes to be named in next week’s male Gamer of the Week Sponsored by Teays Physical Therapy Center, Inc. and The Putnam Herald.
Jonah Skiles, MBA, is the Director of Fitness Operations at Teays Physical Therapy Center and Potential Plus.