Wil Zahorodny is kind of a big deal in the world of running.

A senior from Damascus, Md., Zahorodny is a member of both the men’s track and cross country teams. Running is a passion for him, and this love for what he does motivates him to train.

To prepare for the cross country season he ran about 70 miles every week in the summer, avoiding midday and afternoon hours due to the heat. He said that, unlike other sports, you can’t practice running like a game.

“You train,” Zahorodny said. “(Running) has to be (a passion). Otherwise you wouldn’t be able to stick with it. It’s not like other sports where you can have fun while playing it… you definitely have to be dedicated to what you’re doing.”

His training has paid off. Zahorodny started the season with a first place win at the Campbell Invitational for the 4K run with a finishing time of 16:04. For someone so gifted in the sport, he didn’t actually start out running cross country.

“Freshman year of high school I did indoor track,” he said. “I skipped cross country. I thought about doing it, but decided not to. I had been planning on doing baseball in the spring. I kinda did track just for the fall.”

 Zahorodny soon became an essential asset to the team and he did not return to baseball, instead focusing on track. He was named All-Met and Athlete of the Year by the Washington Post by the end of his high school career, and he came to Wilmington on a track scholarship.

 Zahordony said that he initially did cross country only as a precursor to track season; however, his skill and dedication soon became evident in both sports. By his sophomore year, he was running school-record times for track, and he was a top runner in all seven races of that season in cross country. Since then, he has continued to improve—he was named CAA cross country runner of the week Sept. 3.

He hasn’t let this go to his head, however. When asked how his recent success made him feel, he smiled modestly, slightly uncomfortable with, though appreciative of, the recent attention he has received. “It definitely feels good,” he said. “I’m not overtly a cross country runner, so to get any kind of recognition is great.”

 Zahorodny is ultimately a team player. When asked if he had a preference between cross country and track, he said that he prefers track because of the camaraderie in relay races. A people person, Zahorodny cited reliance on other team members and the constant work as a team to achieve a goal as reasons for his preference.

“You’re not working just for yourself,” he said. “You’re also accountable for the other three people on your team.”

Because this is his last season for track and cross country, he admitted that knowing this is the last time he’ll get to run has also motivated him. “I have thought about how basically everything I do now I’m never going to be able to do it again,” Zahorodny said. “It’s not the only thing, but it does make me do all the little extra things. Even in senior year of high school I knew that I was going to run in college, so it was different.”

When asked if he had any parting advice for future runners, he laughed and said, “Just keep running.”