Scheneberg 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 junior, Matthew Scheneberg of the Winfield High School cross country team.
The local cross-country season is on hold at the moment, but on September 5, one of the biggest races in the state, The St. Mary’s Medical Center XC Festival, was held at Cabell Midland. Out of 22 teams and 100 runners, Winfield’s Matthew Scheneberg took 3rd place overall with a 5K time of 16:52. The junior has established himself as one of the top runners in the state as he is currently ranked 2nd in all of AA. Coming off a successful sophomore campaign that saw him finish 12th at the AA-A state championship meet, Matthew looks to build on that and get ever closer to a state championship this year.
When contemplating how he has improved as a runner over the past few seasons, Scheneberg attributed it mostly to maturity. “I think I’ve matured and realized that it takes a lot more in the offseason as far as training goes and sticking to a training plan. It’s helped me improve a lot since that time.” With that maturity and improved skillset, Matthew’s self-imposed standards have raised as well. Despite the 3rd place finish at the St. Mary’s Invitational, he sees a lot of room for improvement. “I went into it expecting a lot more. It didn’t go exactly how I wanted. I realize though that it is the beginning of the season and there’s still a lot of time to improve and reach the level that I want to be at by the end of the year.”
With the season hanging in the balance and at the mercy of COVID-19, Matthew has decided to look positively at the remaining schedule and stay prepared for when it’s time to run. “My favorite part of running is being around my friends and getting to hang out and experience it all with them. Even though we may not be able to have races now, I’ve been embracing the time I’m getting to practice and prepare with them.”
For the remainder of the year, Matthew is setting his sights on the state tournament. “My goals for myself are to win states first of all and also try and get my PR down to a 15:40.” Matthew noted that his unofficial PR time is a 16:01 that he ran earlier this year in practice. He also noted that the team has a shot at competing for a state title this year and that they are focused primarily on that. “We have a chance to win this year, so everyone is focused and locking in on accomplishing that goal if we are given the chance to do so.” He notes that his family is his biggest inspiration and enables him to try his best and push to succeed.
Matthew is a participant in YoungLife and FCA at Winfield and tries to keep himself busy and competitive in the offseason by running local 5K’s to get the taste for competition. He is undecided on what his plans look like after college, but is considering something leading towards Law School. If given the opportunity, he also has desires to run at the collegiate level.
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.