Injuries are one of the downfalls that come along with competing in sports. Junior cross-country runner Zach Rose suffered a football injury in high school that altered his athletic career.
Hailing from New City, New York, Rose always enjoyed playing sports. Cross country running wasn’t typically Rose’s sport until an injury during his freshman year of high school football. While playing football for Clarkston High School North, Rose suffered an unfortunate injury that collapsed his lung, leaving him without use of half of his lung.
Rose was able to overcome this adversity, but would no longer be allowed to participate in contact sports. This led to Rose taking an interest in running, a decision he does not regret.
“Running just gave me a piece of mind and I kind of just loved it from there,” Rose said.
During his junior year of high school, Rose realized that running is something that he wanted to take serious as he noticed improvement.
“I realized that it is something that if I really apply myself to, then there is no limit on what I can do,” Rose said.
Rose excelled while running at Clarkstown High School North, lettering three times in cross country and four times in track and field. The junior was named as the fall athlete of the year while running for the cross-country team and currently holds the school record in the 2K and 3K races.
During his high school career, Rose recalls his greatest accomplishment being the first time that he broke five minutes in a mile.
“From that, it’s just remembering the joy of what it’s like to have a goal, reach it and the results pay off,” Rose said.
In 2012, Rose made the transition into college where he would join head coach Andrew Krug and the rest of the Plattsburgh State track and field team. In his freshman year of outdoor track, Rose played a crucial role in the men’s 4×400 meter relay team, helping them to secure a fourth place finish in the Hamilton College Invitational and a fifth-place finish in the Capital District Classic.
“He’s somebody that’s going to give it his all,” Krug said. “He’s definitely a competitor, and I know that he takes things to heart.”
Rose’s success carried into his sophomore year and he found himself with an 18th-place finish in the 5,000-meter run at the SUNYAC Championships for the indoor season.
Sophomore teammate Ethan Vinson recognized Rose’s work ethic and describes him as someone who is “dedicated and always wanting to make himself better.”
Now in his junior year, Rose is one of just two upperclassmen on the cross-country team, which is huge from a leadership standpoint.
“I feel like he’ll do very well,” Vinson said. “He’s a lot stronger than he was last year, and overall he just seems like he put in the work over the summer.”
Krug recognized that Rose is a vital part of the team, and his experience will be valuable to this season’s younger squad.
“We’re really looking for Zach to step up and be a leader for our team with his experience, but also with his work ethic,” Krug said.
Email Alex Reynolds at
alex.reynolds@
cardinalpointsonline.com
